Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid
by Liquid
Summary: After a disastrous retrieval mission, MSF Operative Empty Mongoose is dispatched alone to northern Greenland. There he must infiltrate an arctic Radar Base in order to rescue his comrades, while discovering the secrets of Operation Nightlight.
1. Chapter 1 Rapid Deployment

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter One: Rapid Deployment**

 _January 31_ _st_ _, 1975, 0600 hrs._

 _Coastal Waters, Antsiranana, Madagascar_

The one nice thing about being so close to the Equator was that even in January the weather was nice and warm, but that fact didn't help much with the churning seas as the heavy rubber _Zodiac_ boat violently bounced toward its destination. The hard winds almost completely masked the whine of the motor, as well as the cursing that followed each time the single occupant was splashed in the face. This was the best possible option for entry though, unless he wanted to swim, which he did not.

A single support helicopter had been allocated for this mission, but word had been received that there was a high probability of air surveillance, meaning that he had been dropped about ten miles out. The sun would be rising soon, and the shadow of land could be seen in the distance, hopefully giving him just enough time to reach the shore and conceal the Zodiac before anyone spotted him. Of course, it was unknown whether or not someone would even _be_ watching for intruders, since the details of this mission were not exactly complete.

Finally reaching his destination after what felt like forever, the lone occupant shut off the motor, allowing the boat to silently coast the rest of the way to the shore, where he jumped out and pulled it out of the water. There were plenty of palm trees around, making it easy to cover the boat after shoving it up against some large rocks, and he was just finishing when the first rays of sunlight peeked over the horizon. It was a beautiful sight, as was the Madagascar beach where he stood, but there was no time for sightseeing. After all, this was the young man's first solo mission, and he was _not_ about to let the MSF down.

"This is Mongoose." He said after flipping the switch on his radio. "Boss, can you hear me?"

" _Loud and clear, kid_." The gruff voice replied. " _How are things on your end_?"

It was nice to be able to report that everything had gone smoothly during the initial infiltration, but as with every mission, getting there was the easy part. The dispatch order had come the previous evening, when Mongoose had been summoned up to Mother Base's Command HQ almost immediately after his squad had returned from yet another mission. He had been tired and hungry, but everyone in the MSF knew that when Big Boss called, they answered as quickly as humanly possible.

The briefing had been short; Commander Miller opening up with news that the young man was about to get his long sought-after chance at a solo operation, and then Big Boss informing him that he was going to Madagascar. Apparently another squad had been sent there a few days prior on an Intel gathering assignment, but the next time they made contact, the garbled and static-filled transmission informed them that things had gone bad, and that immediate extraction was needed.

The Operative had also insisted, quite adamantly, that a large force was not dispatched; instead requesting a solo infiltration by Big Boss, himself, so as to not give away the Operative's hiding place, and to ensure the highest chance of the Intel making it back to Mother Base safely. Of course, this was impossible, since the Boss was dealing with some kind of inspection request from an organization called the _IAEA_ , so it was decided that the eager young Soldier now known as _Empty Mongoose_ would be given the job.

The helicopter was dispatched immediately following the briefing, and after a few stops at friendly installations to refuel, the young man and his Zodiac were dumped into the ocean. As for equipment, the young man was given his compact radio, a combat knife, and a set of Tiger Stripe camouflage like some of the American Marines were wearing in Vietnam. The idea was for him to get in, get the Operative and his Intel, and then get out without anyone knowing that he was there in the first place, meaning that any other equipment was strictly _OSP_.

" _The transmission came from a kilometer or two inland_." Big Boss's voice continued. " _I know you're used to Combat Deployments, but remember that this is a stealth mission. Avoid any contact with civilians, and don't get into any engagements with hostiles unless you've got no choice. Now go bring our man home… make me proud, kid_."

"You got it, Boss." Mongoose replied, facing inland toward the jungle. "Commencing operation."

Turning off his radio, the young man had a little trouble containing his excitement as he quietly moved away from the beach. Only a couple years ago, he had been nothing but an angry child soldier, fighting in a war that no one cared about. Being a teenager at the time, he enjoyed being able to vent his anger freely against the enemy, as well as the fear in the eyes of those whose villages his unit had raided. Of course, on one of those raids the young man had tried his luck against a man wearing an eye-patch, only to find himself disarmed and choked out before he even knew what happened.

Mongoose vaguely remembered flying up into the air, before being somehow pulled into a helicopter, and quickly knocked out again. Apparently this had been the way that almost all of the new recruits of _Militares Sans Frontieres_ were brought in, and when the young man found himself standing in front of that same man for a second time, there was no doubt that he would be counted among Big Boss's ranks from then on. Back then all they had was a small facility, where the members of MSF trained on the coast, but now they had a base, and their numbers were increasing every day.

This was one of the main reasons why the young man was working so hard to distinguish himself. Now twenty years old, and having been with MSF for three years, Mongoose didn't want to be just another faceless Soldier like he had been during childhood. When the dream of an _Outer Heaven_ was finally realized, he wanted Big Boss to know that he was someone who could be counted on, and as the young man entered the jungle of northern Madagascar, he knew that this was his chance.

The infiltration point was nowhere near the city of Antsiranana, so it was unlikely that there would be any civilians to worry about, but the thick vegetation and steep terrain made it difficult to see approaching threats that were any farther away than about thirty meters or so. Back at Mother Base he had been shown a map of the region, and even though he had not been allowed to bring it with him, the young man remembered that the source of the transmission was directly south of the infiltration point, so that was the way he went.

"Boss, has there been any further contact with the Operative?" Mongoose asked into the receiver as he started up a rocky hill.

" _Afraid not, kid_." Big Boss's voice replied. " _I hate to send you in blind like this, but just remember your training, and you'll be fine. We're tracking your signal, and it looks like you're less than a kilometer from the transmission point, so I suggest that you go with radio silence until you know your situation better. Boss out_."

It was good advice, since he didn't want to risk his signal being stumbled on by the enemy, or someone hearing him talk, so the young man turned off the radio as he continued to climb. This hill was a lot taller than he thought, and the higher he went, the steeper the slope became, almost turning into a perfect drop by the time he reached the summit. Kicking his leg up over the edge, he pulled himself up onto a large plateau where the vegetation was just as thick, but by now he should have been right on top of the transmission point, so Mongoose crouched down as he quietly continued on.

The trees and shrubs provided him with the same amount of concealment as it did for any hostiles that were around, but he still tried to move as slowly and carefully as he could, so not to even disturb the plants that he was pretty much crawling through. A few minutes later the trees gave way to a small clearing, but there wasn't much that he could see without binoculars. The clearing stretched maybe fifty meters across, and there appeared to be a road leading away from it on the far side, where a large jeep sat waiting. There were no people in sight though, leaving the only point of interest being the large wooden shack that sat on the western side.

Staying hidden in the bushes for the next ten minutes, the young man waited and waited, but he still didn't see any signs of life. Apparently there was no one around, at least for now, so he got down on his stomach, and constantly looking around while crawling out of the bushes. There was a heavy wooden door on the front of the shack, but it was most likely locked, so Mongoose crawled around to the back, where he found an empty window frame. A quick check for traps revealed that there was no apparent threat, so he slowly stood up in order to have a look inside.

There was enough light from the rising sun to clearly see the bare wooden interior, but what he saw inside, along with the smell that came with it when he stood all the way up to see better, instantly made him wish that he hadn't. It was a man… an obviously _dead_ man from the way he lay motionless on the floor, staring up at nothing. Mongoose figured that this _had_ to be the Operative who he had been sent in to retrieve, and he had no intention of leaving him there, so he climbed through the window, trying not to make noise when his feet hit the floor.

Now that he was able to get a closer look at the body, he saw that the dead man was completely naked; his hands cuffed behind his back and his ankles bound, while a ripped up uniform with an MSF patch was tossed in the corner. There was an expression of pure agony on the dead man's face, and there were multiple stab wounds all across his torso, although there was surprisingly little blood on the floor. The strange part was that the word _DOMINA_ was carved deeply across the dead man's chest, but this was forgotten when Mongoose noticed the last thing in the room.

It was a radio transmitter, sitting right next to the body, and clearly set to the frequency of Mother Base. There was also a piece of paper taped to it near the receiver, written in elegant female handwriting, and it said almost verbatim what Commander Miller had told him the Operative had said in his final transmission. Did this mean that somebody _wanted_ him to call Mother Base for help before killing him? But that was ridiculous… after all, who in their _right mind_ would want to anger Big Boss, let alone _invite_ him to their location after angering him?

Whatever was going on there, it had to be reported, so the young man was just about to switch on his radio, when a sound reached his ears. It was soft, barely noticeable at first, but becoming clearer as it seemed to get closer. Footsteps?! Yes, someone was _definitely_ outside, moving toward the shack, but by the time he recognized the sound, there was no time to retrieve the body or get back out the window before the knob on the heavy wooden door started to turn.


	2. Chapter 2 Tsarina

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Two: Tsarina**

Aside from the unfortunate MSF operative and transmitter on the floor, there was literally nothing else inside the wooden shack for Mongoose to use as cover, and in about a half-second he was going to have some company. So out of desperation, the young man used an old trick from his days as a child soldier, moving quietly as he got behind where the door would swing open. Holding his breath while the knob finished turning, the door was slowly pushed open, and the first thing he saw was the barrel of an AK-47.

"This is Tsarina." A female voice said as someone walked through the door. "I'm back at the shed, but I don't see anything in here except for, um… what you left behind."

She didn't bother checking around the room for intruders, probably distracted by whatever was being said through the receiver piece in her ear as she moved into the center of the room, groaning with disgust as she turned her head away from the body. She wore a standard _OD Green_ uniform that a lot of personnel used in Vietnam, carried plenty of extra magazines for her rifle, and her long dark hair was in a ponytail that stuck out the back of her patrol cap.

"Okay, Domina, I'll check again." She continued looking over the transmitter. "Tsarina out."

Mongoose narrowed his eyebrows when she mentioned the name _Domina_ , since it was the same word that had been carved into the dead optative's chest, meaning that this girl was obviously one of the ones responsible for this. So he dashed out of hiding, crouched down just like Big Boss had taught him in order to grab her rifle, and spin it out of her hands before she knew what hit her. The weapon bounced across the wooden floor at the same time that he grabbed for the front of her shirt, but Tsarina reacted more quickly than he expected, falling backwards to avoid his hands, and then continuing into a roll that put her into her own crouched position.

Pulling a knife out from behind her back as she jumped up, Mongoose caught her wrist when she went to slash him, before putting his knee into her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. He then hooked his leg behind hers, shoving her backwards with one hand, while taking the knife from her with the other, and causing the shack to echo with a loud _thud_ when she smacked her head on the floor.

Tsarina tried to jump up again, but only got about halfway before dizziness from that last hit made her fall over sideways again. Moaning with pain and holding her head, the girl struggled to get up to her hands and knees while reaching for her radio switch. Mongoose had no intention of letting her call for help, so he grabbed her from behind, pulling her back into a sitting position, where one of her arms was restrained by a sleeper hold. She struggled to free herself, but gasped and froze when she felt the blade of her own knife against her throat.

"No, don't!" She puffed, trying to catch her breath. "Don't kill me!"

"Keep your damn voice down!" The young man whispered harshly. "You wanna live, Princess? Well, _I_ want some answers… what the hell happened to that man over there? _Talk_!"

She was around the same age that he was, but couldn't have been a soldier for very long, based on how badly she was shaking in reaction to the blade. To be fair, _anyone_ would have been scared in that situation, but there probably weren't that many soldiers who will start talking as quickly as she did. Apparently her Commander, someone named _Domina_ , had been angry that the operative had managed to escape from the original ambush.

"She tortured him, and then made him call home." Tsarina continued. "I don't know why, though, there were more than enough prisoners, even after she killed him."

"Prisoners?" Mongoose asked, hopefully. "Then the others are still alive?"

The way it had been explained to Tsarina, their orders were to capture the recon squad that was in the area, _not_ kill them, but she didn't know where they were going to be taken. The young man grilled her intensely about the purpose of forcing the operative to make a distress call, using the knife to cut off her ammo pouches and other equipment, and although this tactic scared her nearly to the point of tears, no other useful information was given.

"That's all I know, I _swear_." She said with a shaky, terrified voice. "Just _please_ don't kill me."

"Relax, Princess, I'm not gonna _kill_ you." He replied, dropping the knife. "But you _are_ gonna take a little nap, now."

Tsarina let out a startled squeak as he tightened the sleeper hold around her neck, and the girl flailed around, kicking her feet while Mongoose put more and more pressure on her. Over the next few seconds her movements became slower and weaker until she finally passed out, and then the young man let go of her in order to hit his own radio switch.

"Boss, I got some bad news." He said once the channel was open. "I found the operative… he was already dead… but I captured an enemy soldier, and she says the others are still alive."

"Too bad about our man." Big Boss's voice replied. "But that's the harsh reality of what we do… any time you pick up a gun, you take a risk dying for nothing. I hope you understand that, too, kid."

Mongoose assured him that he understood, and then proceeded to give all the grim details about what he had found in the shack, as well as everything he had learned about Tsarina and her Commander, Domina. It was clear that more Intel was needed before any kind of rescue operation could be put into place, so it wasn't surprising at all when the Boss ordered him to bring his new _girlfriend_ to the extraction point.

"I'll bring her right to you, Boss." He replied. "Can we have Morpho pick us up at a closer point?"

"Afraid not, kid." The Boss explained. "We don't know if they're still watching the skies for us, and if they _are_ , it could lead them right to you. You'll have to head back to the shore, and use the Zodiac to reach the extraction point. Boss out."

Well, that was that, the young man thought as he took a last look around the shack. The only problem there was that if he carried Tsarina out, then he would have to leave the dead operative behind, and vice-versa. Of course, his orders were to bring her in for interrogation, so as much as he hated to do it, Mongoose slung the unconscious girl over his shoulders, and walked back toward the door.

Crouching down and taking a look through the keyhole, as well as another look when the door was cracked open, he saw no signs of a threat, so he slowly opened the door the rest of the way. From what the Boss had told him, carrying someone out of the hot zone was the most difficult part of any solo mission, since movement and reaction speeds were reduced, so the young man was naturally nervous as he silently exited the shack. All he had to do was get back down the cliffs, and to the shore where the Zodiac was hidden, and it would be all over.

"And what do we have here?" A new voice asked.

The words came from right in front of him, but there was no one in sight, nor could he see anyone when he did a complete spin, and this was met with laughter from the same location. Suddenly there was an electrical distortion in the shape of a woman, and when the crackling blue light faded, there was another girl standing where there had literally been nothing a second before. She was a little older than Tsarina, but wearing the same uniform, but other than her hair being a different shade, it was amazing how similar they looked.

"I was expecting Big Boss." The woman continued, stepping a little closer. "But I suppose you'll do… for the moment. Place Tsarina on the ground, drop any weapons you're carrying, and then get on your knees with your hands behind your head."

"That's a pretty tempting offer." Mongoose replied, trying to hide how nervous he was. "But I think I have a _better_ one."

Quickly extending his arm toward her, the knife that was hidden in his wrist sheath was sent flying right toward her chest, but the woman caught it in her hand and tossed it back without even blinking. There was no time to react or move as it flew toward him, and the next sound to be heard was Mongoose crying out in both pain and surprise when the knife blade sunk into his leg, causing him to drop Tsarina and fall to one knee.

"I agree, that was a _much_ better offer." The woman laughed as he tried to remove the blade. "But where, _oh where_ , have my manners gone? I swear, you'd think I was raised in the woods; allow me to _properly_ introduce myself."

She snapped her fingers, and then four more electrical distortions appeared in a circle around them, and each one revealing a similarly dressed woman when they faded. Each carried an AK-47 like Tsarina, and now all four of them were aimed at the young man while the first woman casually walked up to him. In a flash of quick movement, she grabbed the handle of the knife in his leg while booting him in the chest, ripping out the weapon as he fell onto his back.

"We are the _Valkyrie Special Forces_." She continued, sucking some of his blood off the blade. "You've already met our rookie member, Tsarina, and now holding your life in their hands, from the left going around you, are _Empress_ , _Queen_ , _Kumari_ , and _Sultana_. They are the very finest female soldiers in all the world, and _I_ am their leader… you can call me _Domina_."


	3. Chapter 3 Valkyrie Special Forces

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Three: Valkyrie Special Forces**

Letting out a pained _oof_ as he slid a short distance across the rocky terrain on his face, Mongoose pulled himself back to his feet, only to have another hard punch from Domina send him reeling backwards, where he fell against a wall of the wooden shack. The Valkyrie leader casually followed, using the time before she reached him to put her hair up into a pony tail, and then catching his fist in her hand when he stepped forward to counterattack.

"I'm a little disappointed in Big Boss for not coming personally." She said, hooking her leg behind his, and knocking him to the ground. "But if I'd known that he was going to send a little _punk_ like you in his place, I wouldn't have even bothered _waiting_ here at all."

Rolling over so that he could get to his hands and knees, the young man decided to change tactics, since this _Domina_ woman was clearly out of his league. She also seemed to be waiting for him to get up, so Mongoose scooped up some loose dirt in his hand, making her cry out when he tossed it into her eyes. Moving a little slow because of the leg wound, he managed to grab a hold of the front of her shirt, and flip her over for one of the takedown moves that the Boss had taught him.

However, he had flipped her about halfway, when Domina locked her hands and ankles around him, trapping him, and using the momentum to flip him onto the ground about twice as hard once she landed on her back. This not only stunned the young man, but also left Domina on top of him, where punched him in the mouth hard enough to make him spit out some blood. She pulled back for another punch, which he was able to block, but then she grabbed his wrists, and forced his arms down so that she could pin them down with her knees.

"Typical male, fighting dirty." She continued, pulling him up by the front of his shirt as far as he could go. "So you like to throw dirt, and hit women in the head before carrying them off like some kind of _caveman_ , do you? Well, caveman, get ready for the _Ice Age_."

She pulled back her fist, and the young man's vision went white for a second when the blow struck his forehead. He struggled to get out from under her, but Domina was just too strong, and his vision would just start to come back into focus when she struck him again, and again, and again.

"Domina!" One of the others called, stopping her in mid-punch. "Domina, Tsarina's waking up!"

She looked toward the others as two of them were helping Tsarina sit up, but then Domina looked back at the young man, and again back at the others as if she couldn't decide which of them she should pay more attention to. Eventually she pulled Mongoose up to a full sitting position, stretching his still pinned arms while whispering a quick warning of _'don't go anywhere'_ , before slamming his head back to the ground.

"Pick her up." The Valkyrie leader ordered, moving away from Mongoose, and walking toward them. "I'm disappointed in you, Tsarina… I would understand if _Big Boss_ had taken you down… but allowing yourself to get subdued and captured by this… this _boy_ …

"I'm sorry, Domina." Tsarina nervously said as the others pulled her to her feet. "He was so quiet, and quick that I didn't even know he was _there_ until…

Tsarina's words were interrupted when Domina smacked her in the mouth hard enough to knock her down, and the girl hadn't even started to get back up, when the Valkyrie leader grabbed her by the hair. She then pulled her up into a kneeling position, before smacking her again just as hard, but still holding her hair so she couldn't fall back down.

"Let me explain something to you, Tsarina." Domina continued as two of the others grabbed the girl's arms. "Valkyrie Special Forces are the _best_ ; far superior to the soldiers of _any_ nation, and _especially_ those balloon-conscripted _thugs_ employed by Big Boss. This means that we have to _be_ the best, Tsarina, and although our latest prisoner is going to suffer _dearly_ for harming one of us... I have to make sure you've learned your lesson about _situational awareness_."

"Domina, no, _please_!" Tsarina begged as the Valkyrie leader took Mongoose's knife out from behind her back. "It won't happen again, I swear it!"

Domina gave a sharp reply that she _knew_ it wouldn't happen again, and she was slowly bringing the blade up to Tsarina's cheek, when she suddenly spun around just in time to reflexively catch the rock that the young man had thrown at her head. It had crossed his mind to simply escape while they were preoccupied with Tsarina, but he couldn't just leave her there at Domina's mercy… or _lack_ thereof. The girl gasped when she realized what he had tried to do, but Domina just glared at him as she crushed the rock in her bare hand.

"Well, what do you know?" The Valkyrie leader asked, dropping the pebbles that remained of the rock. "First hitting a woman over the head, and then rescuing the damsel; seems our caveman has become _medieval_ in the blink of an eye. I think someone _likes_ you, Tsarina… Queen, Kumari, bring our _gallant knight_ closer to his prize."

Okay, that was enough chivalry, and the young man knew that he was probably going to suffer for what he had already done, even though he did succeed in getting the Valkyrie leader's attention away from Tsarina. As far as he was concerned, the girl was on her own from then on, but what was he going to do about the ones called Queen and Kumari? There was no way that he could run fast enough to get away from them, and after the beating he had taken from Domina, fighting was out of the question as well… but maybe there was another way… a ridiculous way that was unlikely to work, but a way none the less.

The two female soldiers smirked at him, approaching with rifles aimed, and the one identified as Kumari ordering him to put his hands up, before Queen rammed the stock of her rifle into his stomach, making them two of them laugh when Mongoose fell to his hands and knees. They then slung their rifles in order to grab his arms, and that was when he made his move. Grabbing Kumari's ankles, and using his good leg to come forward, he put his shoulder into the woman's stomach, succeeding in knocking her down. However, his plan was not able to be put into place until Queen grabbed him from behind.

Once she did, he reached back to one of the grenades that was hooked onto her belt, removing the secondary safety, and holding onto the main pin so that it was pulled out when she knocked him to the ground. Both she and Kumari shrieked when they realized what he had done; her partner diving for cover while Queen desperately tried to remove the grenade from her belt. Meanwhile, Mongoose had taken off immediately, scrambling toward the edge of the cliffs, but only getting about halfway there when the force of the resulting blast made him eat the dirt.

"Queen, no!" Domina screamed as he started moving again. "Kill the little shit!"

Suddenly the trees and shrubs that the young man was using for cover were being torn apart by the rifle fire that followed her orders, but so far he had managed to avoid getting shot. However, he was just reaching the edge of the cliff, where he was forced to come out of hiding for just a moment, but that moment was all that Domina needed.

The Valkyrie leader screamed in anger as she tossed his own knife through the air, and the young man was just about to drop over the edge, when he gasped as the blade sunk into his back. This caused him to lose his grip on the rocks, and tumble forward, crashing into nearly every rock as he rolled and bounced his way down. It was a lot faster than climbing, but it felt even worse than Domina's punches each time a part of him slammed into the hard surfaces.

"After him!" He barely heard her yell as the world kept up its painful spin. "I want him shot in sight!"

Suddenly the spinning tumble came to an end when Mongoose crashed into a tight space between two large rocks, and although he seemed to be hidden from plain sight, it wasn't until his vision came back into focus that he realized that he was trapped. Wedged tightly in a space that wasn't large enough for him, the young man found himself on his back, and unable to do much more than move one arm a little from side to side. He couldn't even reach his radio, not that it would've done him much good in that situation, and some blood sprayed out of his mouth when he coughed a moment later.

It was probably because of the knife buried in his back, but even trying to breathe was painful, and then his latest attempt to free himself was stopped when a shadow moved over him. There was someone standing there, a woman on the rock above him, with her rifle aimed right at the young man's face. The rising sun was now beaming down right in his eyes, so it took a few seconds to realize that it was Tsarina standing there… and at that moment Mongoose hoped that she would shoot him, since it was _sure_ to be better than being dragged back to face Domina again.

"Domina, this is Tsarina." The girl said into her radio. "There's nothing here; he's just gone, like… like he didn't even _fall_ this way."

She slung her rifle over her shoulder, putting one hand over the receiver in her ear in order to listen to the Valkyrie leader's reply. Meanwhile, Mongoose made another attempt to free himself, which had about as much success as the first. He didn't want to make too much noise, in case Domina heard him through the radio, so at the moment he was completely at Tsarina's mercy.

"Understood, I'll start moving toward the other side of the island." The girl continued after receiving her reply. "I'm sure we'll find him before the extraction chopper arrives, and then I'll drag him and his friends to _Upernavik_ myself. Tsarina out."

She turned off the radio, and then got into a prone position, laying on her stomach on top of the rock, and taking her binoculars out as if she were searching for him.

"Stay still and quiet if you want to live." The girl whispered while scanning the area. "In thirty minutes we have to pull out, and then you should be able to free yourself. Thank you, by the way… for trying to save me… my advice is to stay as far south as you can, because Domina is _never_ going to forgive you for killing Queen… goodbye."

With that, Tsarina got up, and started running away from his position. Mongoose was about to ignore her warnings and try to free himself again before he passed out, but then froze when another of the Valkyrie Special Forces ran right past him. It was starting to look like he was going to have to wait for a half hour until their transport arrived, but it took a lot less time than that for him to lose consciousness.


	4. Chapter 4 Recovery

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Four: Recovery**

 _February 1_ _st_ _, 1975, 1030 hrs._

 _Medical Platform, MSF Mother Base, Caribbean Sea_

"So you're saying they just _zapped_ themselves in from nowhere?" Kazuhira Miller asked, pacing the room with his hands behind his back. "Five beautiful women just _appeared_ out of thin air, and started thrashing you, is that what you're saying happened?"

"Yes, Sir, Commander Miller." Mongoose replied, groaning as he shifted position in the hospital bed. "That is _exactly_ what I'm telling you happened. One second I was carrying Tsarina away from the shack, and then Domina and her _bitch patrol_ just _appeared_ in front of me… there was a little bit of electricity around them as it happened, but other than that I there was no warning."

Being debriefed after a mission was never pleasant, let alone being interrogated as if the young man was a fresh capture, but to be fair, he wouldn't have believed it either if he hadn't seen it happen with his own eyes. Still, even given the fact that Miller had insisted that he be handcuffed to the bed, it was good to be home. Mongoose must have been out for most of the day, since when he woke up he was back on Mother Base, and then the questions started with no end to them in sight.

"That's ridiculous." Miller continued, coming back to the bed and putting his hands on the footboard. "You can't just… _teleport_ soldiers from place to place like that."

"Calm down, Kaz." Big Boss interrupted, leaning back in the nearby chair. "You're right, teleportation _is_ impossible, but _bending light_ isn't, and I've seen _that_ before. Back in Tselinoyarsk, during the Snake Eater mission, a Cobra Unit soldier called _The Fear_ wore a device that rendered him almost completely invisible to the naked eye. Wearing it seemed to make him tired, but it worked _exactly_ the way the kid just explained it."

The conversation had been going back and forth like this for hours, with Miller and the Boss picking apart every detail of Mongoose's report. Miller seemed hell-bent on proving that the young man had somehow betrayed the MSF, and not only allowed an operative to be killed, but the others to be carted off to wherever this Valkyrie Special Forces called home. Big Boss, however, seemed more sympathetic. He wasn't about to instantly believe everything that Mongoose said, but at least he was giving the young man a chance to be heard.

"Okay then, so these girls have some kind of stealth… _shield_ , or something." Miller continued after several seconds of silence. "But then how do you explain this Tsarina letting you go? And I assume it was _her_ voice on the transmission that told us where to find you, as well?"

"Look, I don't know why she helped me." Mongoose said back. "But what I _do_ know is that four of our people have been taken to someplace called _Upernavik_ ; she said she would drag me there herself when Domina called for an update, so that's gotta be where Domina took the others, right? Boss, we gotta go get our people back!"

This time Big Boss was hesitant as he sat there, thinking quietly as he lit up a fresh cigar, and the young man already knew what he was going to say before he said it. There was a lot going on at Mother Base right then, with the IAEA breathing down their necks about wanting to conduct an inspection, and they couldn't draw a lot of attention to MSF until the matter was resolved. Word around the base was that the Boss had sent them a letter of rejection, saying that they had done nothing to warrant suspicion, even though everyone on Mother Base _knew_ that Metal Gear ZEKE was going to be armed with a Nuclear Warhead.

Of course, ZEKE's development had been slowed down dramatically after that girl, Paz, had hijacked it and gone after the Boss. Mongoose didn't know the whole story, but apparently ZEKE ended up nearly wrecked, and Paz was sent to a watery grave. Some of the guys, well at least the ones who had been most fond of her, thought that maybe she had survived, but this was not very likely.

"So what, we're just gonna leave them?!" The young man demanded. "Boss, I've seen what Domina is capable of; we can't just leave them at her mercy!"

"And what do _you_ suggest, huh, boy?!" Miller interrupted, slamming his hands down on the footboard. "You want us all to just go rushing in blindly, and have the Boss just _not be around_ the next time the IAEA comes sniffing through, and just put… _Huey_ in charge? How do you know that your girlfriend isn't leading us into a trap, huh? Do you even know where this _Upernavik_ is? I sure don't, do you, Boss?"

Mongoose could only shrug and shake his head, since he had never even heard of such a place before, and neither had the Boss. It gave him a glimmer of hope when Big Boss walked over to the intercom and told the Intel team to find out where the hell Upernavik was. Miller seemed irritated that the idea was even being entertained, but the good news was that he appeared to have had enough of the whole thing, sighing with frustration before leaving the room a moment later.

"Don't take it so hard, kid." Big Boss said, walking up to him and offering the cigar. "Have a drag or two… it helps after being beaten half to death by a woman and being left for dead… trust me on that."

Mongoose was more than happy to have a smoke, taking a puff of the cigar, and letting out a stream of smoke while the Boss removed the handcuff. The young man rubbed his sore wrist as Big Boss related some of what happened to him during the infamous _Virtuous Mission_ back in '64, and how he had faced the same kind of suspicion by the CIA after barely making it home alive.

"So, this girl, Tsarina." The Boss continued, taking back the cigar. "Was she pretty?"

"She was _gorgeous_ , Boss." The young man replied, trying to sit up. "A slender brunette with dark blue eyes, and an AK-47… I used to prefer blondes, but apparently _they_ have a habit of stealing Metal Gears."

"Right, kid." Big Boss laughed, shaking his head. "And _brunettes_ just like to stab and shoot you, huh? All right, _Empty Mongoose_ , let's get you on your feet."

Every single part of Mongoose's body was sore and aching, but he followed orders, groaning loudly as he slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed. The wound on his back had been stitched closed, but it still felt like the blade was in there, twisting around each time he tried to move at all. Once he was fully sitting up, Big Boss grabbed his arms, making the young man cry out loudly when he was roughly pulled to his feet. He started to fall, but the Boss caught him, and then put the young man's arm around his shoulders to make him start walking around the room.

It was slow going at first, with his legs barely responding due to the soreness and fatigue, but very slowly he was able to move around better. Once he was able, Big Boss left him standing on his own, instructing the young man to walk across the room to him, as if a child trying to walk over to his father. It took a while, and there were several rest breaks involved, but eventually he made it to the far end of the room, where the Boss had prepared a syringe of a strange colored liquid.

"Here you go, kid." He said, taking his arm, and injecting the liquid. "Here's a little _Adrafinil_ to get you back in the fight. It's a new drug from France… and there you go… should be feeling it pretty quick."

It only took a few seconds for the drug to start working, and although it did absolutely _nothing_ for the pain, the fatigue in Mongoose's body was fading away. Now he was moving around better; trying to ignore his wounds as Big Boss made him walk from one end of the room, and then back to the other dozens, and dozens of times. Eventually he asked about pain relievers, but the Boss simply replied that he needed to keep the pain, at least long enough for the young man to learn from his past mistakes.

"It'll make you stronger." The Boss explained as Mongoose walked past him. "Then it won't hurt as much the next time someone does _this_."

He then palm-struck the young man right on the wound on his back, making him cry out in agony when he fell against some of the nearby cabinets. It was a struggle to get back up, only to have Big Boss hook his leg while shoving him back down to the floor; the pain now feeling like fire when he landed on his back.

"Get up, Mongoose." The Boss taunted, pushing him down again during his next attempt to get up. "You think the enemy is going to go _easy_ on you just because you're hurt?"

He went to push him down again, but this time Mongoose knocked his arm away. The young man ignored the pain, jumping up as fast as he could in order to grab the Boss, but his hands only found air when Big Boss avoided them by turning sideways and bringing the back of his fist into the young man's face. This made Mongoose stumble back a little, but gave him no time to react before Big Boss got around behind him, restraining the young man's arm while putting him into a sleeper hold, and leaning back so that Mongoose's feet were barely touching the floor.

"Good, kid, _real_ good." The Boss said, tightening his grip. "You've still got that fighting spirit I saw coming at me with a knife in the tall grass, remember? Now all we gotta do is work on your _body_ … so you get yourself back up to speed, show me you're back to a hundred percent, and then when we find this _Upernavik_ place… you're gonna go get our people back, aren't you?"

"Yes, Boss!" Mongoose choked as he started to get tunnel-vision. "I'll get them back… I'll make you proud!"

The young man was just about to pass out, when Big Boss released him, catching Mongoose when he started to fall again. The young man coughed and tried to catch his breath, realizing only when his vision completely came back into focus, that for a short time he had been able to completely ignore his wounds and scars. This was something he was going to have to learn to master quickly, especially if the Boss was really going to give him the chance to rescue their comrades… especially if it meant a second possible encounter with Domina.


	5. Chapter 5 Operation Jailbreak

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Five: Operation Jailbreak**

 _March 7_ _th_ _, 1975, 0005 hrs._

 _Coastal Waters, Upernavik, Greenland_

There was a slight rumbling in the floor and walls of the lone helicopter as it made its way across the churning waves below, on course for a small clearing in the mainland. Even with the doors closed and the heater on, Empty Mongoose could still feel how low the temperature was outside, in stark contrast to the warm winds of the Caribbean. Using the dim red light that bathed the interior of the helicopter, the young man made a final check of his weapons and equipment, since this was the last chance he would get to report any kind of a problem.

" _Now on final approach_." The pilot's voice reported through the radio. " _You ready for this, Mongoose?_ "

"As ready as I'll ever be." He replied, moving off the bench. "Brace yourself, I'm opening the door."

Grabbing the handle and pulling it into the release position, the door had only opened a couple inches, when the piercing cold arctic wind forced its way inside. Mongoose had known that it was going to be cold in Greenland, but the way both he and the pilot cried out in surprise, was a testament that he hadn't known just _how_ cold it was going to be. The swirling wind also brought snow along with it, filling the interior with tiny flakes as the darkened mainland got closer.

The point of insertion was a small clearing along the rocky shore, and thankfully the young man had been given a set of NVG's, or else he would not have been able to see it. The only thing around the clearing as the helicopter moved in, was large pine trees and snow… lots and lots of snow that came up to Mongoose's knees when he jumped out of the low-hovering helicopter.

" _Be careful down there, Mongoose_." The pilot said as he gained altitude. " _I'll be thinking about you when I'm sipping shine back at Mother Base_."

"Hey, screw you, Morpho." Mongoose replied to the pilot's laughter as the helicopter moved away. "Bastard."

Soon the helicopter was gone, vanished into the night sky as the young man took cover behind a large tree in case anyone was around. The wind would've covered most of the noise from the rotors, but he couldn't risk being discovered before at least getting the lay of the land. So taking a quick look around with his NVG's, there was no movement aside from the blowing snow, and _certainly_ no visible heat signatures, so now all he had to do was make his way toward the remote village of Upernavik.

It was actually the only settlement on an island of the same name, but with the channels between the islands frozen over this time a year, there was access to both the surrounding islands as well as the mainland by foot. Unfortunately, the average temperature was about negative sixteen degrees Celsius, so spending time outside was not exactly pleasant. As for the village itself, it was a typical remote community with a population of about a thousand, which posed the question as to why Domina would have her Valkyrie Special Forces bring a bunch of MSF prisoners there.

"Boss, I've reached the insertion point." He reported, trying to keep his teeth from chattering. "How's the transmission on your end?"

" _Coming in just fine, kid_." Big Boss's voice replied. " _Cold enough for you up there_?"

Letting out a small, forced laugh, Mongoose just shook his head as he took another look around. He was actually about five miles away from the village, but that had been the plan to avoid detection, and hopefully it would work _better_ than his similar attempt back in Madagascar. No, this time it _would_ be better… his mission was to both find and extract the kidnapped MSF operatives, and if _possible_ … eliminate Domina and her team.

It had taken several weeks for the Intel team to even figure out where the hell Upernavik was, and then the mission itself had to be planned, but this had given the young man plenty of time to get back to one hundred percent. It had been difficult, but with the Boss's help, and a lot of intensified training, MSF operative Empty Mongoose was back in the fight. The original plan had been for Big Boss to accompany him while he ran a decoy mission to distract Domina, but things at Mother Base had changed recently.

Even though the letter refusing to allow the IAEA had been sent, for some reason _Huey_ had decided to take matters into his own hands and contact the UN to authorize the inspection, siting that Big Boss had _changed his mind_. This was impossible to undo, since the world would see such infighting as a sign that the MSF was unstable and lacking leadership, so the inspection date was set for late evening on March 9th. This meant that the plan to hide Metal Gear ZEKE _and_ its nuke at the bottom of the ocean had to be immediately executed.

However, this was not the end of Mother Base's problems. Turns out that against all odds, the Cipher mole, Paz, had apparently survived her fall into the ocean. Mongoose didn't know the whole story, but apparently she had been picked up by a fisherman, and then taken somewhere in Cuba by the American government, probably the CIA. This meant that if the girl was interrogated, she would be able to give them everything… base specification, personnel numbers, _and_ the fact that ZEKE was nuclear-armed.

Needless to say, plans for the Boss to infiltrate the compound where Paz was being held, in order to either extract or eliminate her, were put into place. Unfortunately, it was soon discovered that Chico, one of the youngest members of MSF, and who was known to have feelings for Paz, disappeared. Contact with his sister, Amanda, revealed that while headed for the Costa Rican mainland for an impromptu leave, along with other personnel who could possibly cause trouble during the inspection, Chico had jumped ship.

It didn't require the Intel team to figure out what had happened or where he was going, since Chico had once confided in Mongoose about how much he liked Paz, but Big Boss was _not_ happy about this. It was highly likely that the boy would be captured during his hasty attempt to rescue her, and this suspicion was confirmed once a distress signal from Chico had been received exactly one week before the IAEA's inspection was supposed to happen. Now the Boss had to figure out who to get to them both, since the boy had even more knowledge of the base than Paz, meaning that Mongoose was on his own.

It would take the Intel team a few days at least to scout the area where both of them were being held, so until then Big Boss and the others would be available to provide support for what was now being called _Operation Jailbreak_. And thankfully, unlike with the retrieval mission in Madagascar, the young man was well armed and equipped. The tight-fitting, dark uniform he was wearing was the very latest in all-weather stealth research, designed to resist the elements while also damping the sound of the wearer's movements, and dubbed the _SV-Sneaking Suit_.

On top of this and the NVG's that he had been given, Mongoose was also armed with the combat knife that Domina had shoved into his back, and a silenced _Burkov 9mm_ pistol. Still, even with the sneaking suit's all-weather protection, the weather in Greenland was absolutely _miserable_. The balaclava that he was wearing helped protect his face and head a little as well, but there was just no stopping this wind, even with all the large pine trees around to block it.

"I didn't think anywhere on _Earth_ could be this cold, Boss." The young man replied to the previous question. "Hard to believe that people actually _choose_ to live in a God-forsaken place like this."

" _It lets them keep to themselves_." Big Boss replied. " _Stops people like us from coming in and causing trouble, but it also means that you won't be able to blend in with the locals. See, in places like this, everybody knows everybody, and any time a stranger comes to town, its big news. News that you probably don't want reaching Domina if the Valkyries already have a presence here_."

The Boss went on to explain that for this mission, Mongoose was going to have to look for things that were out of place; didn't seem to belong with everything else in town, since it was doubtful that the captured operatives would just be left lying on the floor in the first house. So he was going to have to look for transport vehicles, people armed with more than just hunting rifles, and particularly women who didn't fit in, since the Valkyries didn't seem to like men very much. He also reminded the young man that getting revenge on Domina was _secondary_ to extracting the prisoners, although he might very well be forced to confront the others in order to get information.

Although he was authorized to confront targets like Sultana, Kumari, and the others if it would somehow benefit the mission, the young man was advised to try to find alternate ways to move forward first. After all, the Valkyries had four of their people, and Domina didn't seem like the type to hesitate in killing a prisoner as an act of retaliation. Big Boss's final warning, however, was about Tsarina. He could tell that Mongoose liked her, but obviously the girl's loyalty was to Domina, and that meant that she could easily turn him in or even kill him if she became aware of his presence.

" _I'm sorry I can't be there with you on this one, kid_." The Boss continued. " _Lately it seems like when things go to hell, it happens all at the same time_. _We can't wait much longer to go after Paz and Chico… I just hope they haven't talked_."

"It is what it is, Boss." Mongoose replied, standing up and taking another look around. "Don't worry… I'll get our people back… commencing Operation Jailbreak."


	6. Chapter 6 Upernavik

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Six: Upernavik**

It was difficult to trudge through the snow without making noise, since it was knee-deep, and the ground wasn't exactly level as Mongoose moved between the pine trees. The wind was loud enough to mask any sound that his SV Sneaking Suit didn't, and the blowing snow was doing a fair job of covering his tracks, although the full moon didn't do anything to conceal his presence. Of course, there was no guarantee that anyone was even out there watching for him, since most intelligent people would be safe indoors on a night like this.

The coldest part of any night was actually about two-thirty, so having been dropped in at about midnight meant that the wind just blew colder as the young man made his way toward the remote village of Upernavik. Five miles wasn't really that far of a distance, even with the snow slowing him down, so it was only a matter of time before the first signs of civilization appeared past the trees. At first Mongoose tried to decide on a good vantage point, but then realized that he could see just about the whole place from where he was.

Upernavik was just as Big Boss had described; a small village in the middle of nowhere, and it was made up of a bunch of nearly identical buildings that sat in neat rows on the slope of a hill. A few recently plowed roads made their way up and down the rows, ending at what looked like a small port, where some slightly larger buildings, probably businesses, were positioned. Being that it was so late, only a few houses had light coming from the windows, and there were only a few streetlights, mostly near the port, but thankfully Mongoose's NVG gave him all the light he needed.

The Boss had really rolled out the good stuff for him this time, meaning that his NVG was just part of the same kind of _Int-Scope_ that he used. On top of letting the young man see in the dark, it was also a binocular with zoom, and was equipped with a directional microphone, which was _far_ easier than trying to listen in on conversations up close. So crouching down behind a nearby rock, the young man put it up to his eye, and started slowly taking in all that Upernavik had to offer.

"Boss, I've reached Upernavik." He reported, looking at once house after another. "You weren't kidding when you said this was a small place."

" _Mongoose, its Huey_." A voice that surprised him replied. " _The Boss and Miller had to go over the latest Intel for the Cuba mission, so I'll be handling your support for a while. Have you found any leads to our missing people_?"

It was strange that the scientist would be allowed to handle mission support, but not really _that_ surprising, seeing as there were currently multiple mission going on at once. Either way, the young man had to report that he hadn't found anything yet, since there was barely any activity in and around the houses. Once in a while someone would be spotted walking down one of the streets, but they didn't look suspicious, probably coming home from the bar.

"The whole town's dead around the houses." Mongoose continued, scanning further down the hill. "There's a few more lights on around the port, but… wait a second."

A flash of light caught his attention, and when the young man scanned over to the source, he saw that it was coming from an approaching vehicle; a military transport truck, Russian make from the look of it, and winterized to blend in better with the snow. The truck was moving slowly, headed for one of the port buildings that looked like a warehouse, where it stopped, and a small group of armed men got out of the back. They quickly surrounded the vehicle in a typical security formation, but then the person in the passenger seat got out, and Mongoose's eyes narrowed.

"It's _Kumari_!" He exclaimed quietly, zooming in to see her better. "Huey, it's Kumari, one of _Domina's_ people! That means this really _is_ the right place! I need to get down there."

" _Hold on, Mongoose, wait a second_!" Huey's voice replied as he got out from behind cover. " _Don't do anything rash_!"

Sure, it was a little rash to try and infiltrate a town that he knew next to nothing about, but this was probably the best chance to find out where the missing MSF operatives had been taken, because he _doubted_ that they had been just left sitting in some warehouse. Without any satellites available to help mark or track the truck, and not knowing how long Kumari was going to be there, Mongoose's only options were to either somehow stow away on the truck… or capture someone who had been riding on it.

Taking another look through the scope as he entered the town, the young man watched as Kumari entered the warehouse building, and then tried to both come up with a plan of attack _and_ stay out of sight. The good news was that if he grabbed someone from the truck, it didn't _have_ to be her, although someone from the Valkyries would probably have a lot more information than some regular soldier. Of course that begged the question as to who the other soldiers were, since Mongoose assumed that everyone in Valkyrie was a woman, and these men with Kumari were obviously not.

"I think we have more than just the Valkyrie girls here." He reported quietly before darting across the next street. "I'm seeing a group of about six armed men, maybe mercenaries or soldiers, wearing winter-camo, and carrying AK's and grenades, just like the Valkyries."

" _Mongoose, whatever you're going to do, be careful_." Huey's voice replied. " _You're the only one who can do this job, and our men are counting on you to bring them home_."

He knew that, and it weighed heavily on the young man's decision making process, but in a situation like this, there was really no such thing as staying completely safe. So far he had been able to move through the town without incident, avoiding the sparsely placed streetlights and randomly wandering people easily enough until he got all the way down to the port district. The truck was still parked there, with only the driver and a single guard in sight, but now he had to be more careful.

There were more streetlights, and less cover to use in order to sneak up on the guard, being that there were no more buildings between where the houses ended and the warehouses began. This made the direct approach impossible, since the guard seemed hell-bent on facing toward the village the whole time, meaning that Mongoose was going to have to take the long way around. Keeping a constant watch to make sure he wasn't discovered, the young man moved a good distance down the street before crossing over to the warehouse side, and then kept to the shadows as much as possible while moving back toward the truck.

" _Hey, you want a smoke_?" The guard said in English as Mongoose looked through the scope.

"No thanks, man." The driver replied. " _Those things'll kill ya_."

If the guard was about to smoke, then this was the perfect time to strike, so the young man crouched down while moving faster, trying to stay out of what the driver's mirrors could see. Thankfully the driver didn't appear to be paying too much attention as Mongoose moved up against the side of the truck, nor was the guard while he leaned against the back and lit up his cigarette, just in time for the young man to grab him.

"Didn't you hear?" Mongoose whispered, putting his knife at the guard's throat once he was subdued. "Those things'll kill ya… now where's this truck heading?"

"DYE-2." He quickly answered. "We're headed back to DYE-2 after this, but that's all I know."

There were a hundred questions that the young man wanted to ask him, namely where this DYE-2 place was, and what had happened to the MSF operatives, but at that moment the door to the warehouse could be heard opening, along with the sound of footsteps a second later. There was no time to choke the guard out, and killing him would just put everyone on alert, so Mongoose used the knife's handle as a fist-pack, and struck the guard on the back of the head as hard as he could.

The guard collapsed, and the ground was slippery, allowing Mongoose to slide under the truck, moving all the way to the front while the guards walked around back. As expected, the first one to see the fallen guard called out to the others, causing them and the driver to rush around to see what happened. This gave Mongoose the perfect distraction, allowing him to get out from under the truck, and creep over to the still partially open door. The guards still hadn't seen him as he passed through it, then he closed the door, and turned around just in time to see down the barrel of a pistol as it was pressed into his forehead.

"Yes, I heard you the first time." Kumari said into her receiver with a smile as she pulled the hammer back. "The idiot probably fell on the ice… this _is_ Greenland, you know. No… head back with what you've got, and then send the truck back for me… I have something to take care of first."

Once the conversation was over, she ordered Mongoose to put his hands up, keeping the pistol pressed against his head, sliding it across his balaclava as she walked around to disarm him. Well, this was certainly _not_ the way he imagined the mission starting out, yet there he was, a prisoner of Valkyrie Special Forces for a second time, and now that his weapons were gone, Kumari stopped walking when she was in front of him again.

"So, Domina was right after all." She continued, slowly removing his balaclava with her free hand. "The _legendary_ Big Boss coming all the way up here just to avenge his… oh, it's _you_ again. You know, did anyone ever tell you that in the right light, you and your Boss look kind of… oh, never mind. Be a good boy and start talking… tell me everything that's happened up until now, or I'm going to put a hole in your head."

"Everything that's happened, huh?" Mongoose replied nervously. "Well… first the Earth cooled, and then the _dinosaurs_ came… but they got too big and fat, so they died and turned into oil, and then the _Arabs_ came… and they all bought _Mercedes Benzes_ , so…

His rambling was interrupted when Kumari suddenly struck him in the side of the head with her pistol, making him stumble sideways before falling to his hands and knees.

"Okay then." She said with an irritated sigh, putting down her pistol. "We'll just do this the old-fashioned way… with our _fists_."


	7. Chapter 7 Kumari

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Seven: Kumari**

Kumari put up her fists and slowly approached Mongoose, prompting the young man to get up and do the same. She had been one of the ones that held his arms when Domina was going to start slicing on him, and right now he was just sad that both her _and_ Queen hadn't been caught in the blast that resulted. This left him alone with her in a warehouse, in Greenland, and since she had set all their weapons off to the side, and Kumari _obviously_ knew he was there, so for once it was going to be a fair fight.

He had never seen her in action before, but it was a safe bet that she was dangerous, having most likely been trained by Domina. Still, a fight like this pretty much guaranteed that he wasn't going to inadvertently kill her… at least _not yet_. This would give him the chance to get information out of her once she was subdued… of course, on the other hand… if he were to lose, and Kumari captured him…

This train of thought was interrupted as she moved forward and took a swing at him, missing when Mongoose leaned back to avoid it. He then grabbed her arm in an attempt to flip her over, but Kumari hooked her leg behind his, and threw herself forward, making them both fall to the concrete floor when she collided with him. Grabbing her arms and climbing on top of her, the young man was about to try choking her with the collar of her shirt, but she managed to kick her legs up, and wrap them around his head.

This woman had some incredible thigh muscles, making Mongoose cry out when they squeezed his head, and easily pulling him back down to the floor. However, he managed to slip out just before Kumari would've had him pinned, and threw out a kick that grazed her jaw when she dropped down to avoid it. Now both rolling away from each other, the two of them got back to their feet, and took a moment to catch their breath.

"Not bad." She said, checking her lip for blood. "You might not be Big Boss, but... maybe Tsarina wasn't so weak for losing to you after all. It's just too bad about all those _lashes_."

"Lashes?" Mongoose asked as his breathing returned to normal. "What are you talking about?"

Kumari smiled at his reaction, and then just shook her head before explaining. Apparently, among the ranks of the Valkyrie Special Forces, perfection was the standard, and those who failed to meet this standard were punished _severely_. She made a point to explain that Domina wasn't a lunatic who simply killed her own people, but for both being subdued by Mongoose, _and_ not being able to prevent him from escaping, Tsarina had been hung up topless by her wrists, and hit across the back with a bull whip thirty times.

"Oh, you should've been there." Kumari continued as the young man's face turned red with anger. "By the seventh lash she was _crying_ , and _begging_ for it to stop, but the screams she let out each time, well… that's the kind of sound that keeps you up at night. Don't worry, Domina had her cut down the next morning, and… oh, am I making you _angry_ , little boy? Then let's get back to it."

She came at him again, this time faster and with more intensity, but Mongoose was feeling more intense as well, ducking under her first punch, and spinning around so that he slammed his heel into her stomach. She doubled over as the wind was knocked out of her, so the young man locked his leg behind hers while grabbing the front of her jacket to shove her down. This was stopped when she grabbed him around the waist, lifting him up just enough to tackle him when he was off balance, and then she straddled him, pushing his arms away so that she could attack his face.

"Got a _thing_ for Tsarina, do you?" Kumari asked as she slowly overpowered his arms. "Well, I'll make sure she's the last thing you see before Domina cuts out your eyes at DYE-2."

Once she got his arms down, Kumari pulled back and punched, but Mongoose tilted his head at the last second to avoid it, making her cry out in pain when her fist slammed into the concrete instead. Using this distraction to free his arms, the young man pulled over so that they were both lying on the floor sideways, and then he grabbed the front of her jacket and undershirt, pulling them crossways in order to put a real squeeze on her throat.

She grabbed at him, but one working hand was easy to avoid, and her legs were still around his waist. Kumari still tried to escape though, flailing around and arching her back, but the young man just kept squeezing and squeezing, and soon she started getting weaker. Gasping for breath, Kumari's attempts to free herself became less and less energetic, until finally her whole body relaxed as her eyes closed.

"Weak for losing to me, huh?" Mongoose said to himself as he moved away from her. "I wonder how many lashes _you'd_ get."

Remaining on the floor until he caught his breath, the young man pulled himself back up to his feet, picking up his equipment from where Kumari had dropped it, along with her pistol before scooping up Kumari, herself. It was only a matter of time before that transport truck came back for her, since he didn't know how far away this _DYE-2_ place was, so Mongoose figured that the best thing to do was relocate. There was no sign of the truck, or anything else for that matter when he took a peek out the door, so he made his move, carrying his prisoner back across the road toward the rows of houses.

The last feature of his NVG was a thermal scanner that could see the body heat of any living thing, illuminating it far more brightly than anything around it, and he used this feature to look through the windows of house after house, until he found one that was empty. Not only was it empty, but it was one of a few that looked like they had been abandoned for years, and there was no better place for an interrogation than an empty building. All of these _Valkyrie_ women were on the skinny side, so lifting Kumari through the broken window was a snap, and it turns out that the house had a basement as well, so that's where he put her.

"Huey, it's done." He said into his receiver while looking for something to tie her up with. "I've captured Kumari."

" _You have_?" The scientist's voice asked. " _Way to go, Mongoose! I knew you could do it… but uh, because of the upcoming mission to Cuba, we don't have anything available for prisoner extraction. So, uh… what are you going to do with her after the interrogation_?"

The young man hadn't really thought that far ahead about what he would do if he captured one of the Valkyries alive, since honestly he hadn't known if it was even possible. So after finding an old rope and using it to tie up Kumari… Mongoose really didn't know what the best thing to do was. Even if there _was_ a support helicopter available, he didn't have any Fulton equipment, nor was it practical to carry her all the way back to the only safe landing zone.

"I'm really not sure, Huey." He confessed, making sure the ropes were tight. "Right now I'll just focus on making her talk, but hey, I need a favor. Both Kumari _and_ a guard mentioned a place called DYE-2, that's D-Y-E and the number two; can you have the Intel team see if they can find out what this place is… and _where_ it is?"

" _DYE-2_?" Huey asked, pausing as if he was writing it down. " _That actually sounds kind of familiar, but yeah, I'll pass it along. Oh, and uh… good luck with your prisoner_."

Now he was alone, and having been given no guidance as to what to do with Kumari, the young man had to assume that it was up to him how to proceed. So taking a deep breath, and letting it out slowly, he backhanded his prisoner, causing her to jolt awake. As expected, Kumari looked around confused, since she woke up in an entirely different place, but then glared at him once she figured out that she was tied up.

"Well, this is rich." She said, surprisingly calm for someone in her position. "What are you going to do now? One of Big Boss's famous _Fulton Extractions_?"

"Not exactly." Mongoose replied, taking out his 9mm and pressing it to her forehead. "More like… you either start talking about the MSF operatives that you took, or I'm gonna shoot you in the face. We'll start simple… where are they, and why were they taken in the first place?"

Instead of answering, Kumari just chuckled a little while shaking her head. Apparently she thought he was bluffing, probably due to his age, or the fact that most soldiers followed rules about the treatment of prisoners. So he put his hand over her mouth, moved the pistol so that it was pressed into her right leg, and pulled the trigger. There was hardly any sound or light, thanks to the suppresser, and Mongoose's hand muffled his prisoner's scream as she pulled against the ropes.

"Yes, yes, I know you're tough." He said, keeping his hand there as he pulled the trigger again. "I know that it'll take a lot more than a few bullets in the leg to make you talk, so I'm gonna empty my whole clip into you without even bothering to ask if you're ready to talk yet, because honestly, that would be insulting to you."

Kumari thrashed around, pulling at the ropes with all her strength, and screaming into his hand when the second bullet was fired into her right leg… and then the third… and then the first in her left leg. Tears were streaming down her face when he shifted the pistol to a new spot on her left leg, but then she managed to pull her mouth away from his hand.

"DYE-2!" She quickly exclaimed. "It's on the mainland, twenty miles from here… just follow the route the truck took."

"That's great, Kumari." Mongoose replied, moving the pistol to another spot. "But I already heard the name DYE-2, and figured out to follow the truck, so all you really gave me was a distance. Now, if our roles were switched, would _you_ let _me_ get away with that? I have a good number of bullets left in here, you know."

Thanks to the holes he had put in her legs, his prisoner was finally convinced that he wasn't bluffing, so she opened up a little. Kumari told him about how they had been contracted to retrieve samples of military forces all around the world, and that their data would be used for the _Nightlight_ project, but only Domina would have all the details. Pressing her for more information about what this Nightlight thing was, but even shooting her in the leg again, that was all the information that his prisoner seemed to have.

"Thank you, Kumari." He said, moving the pistol away from her leg. "You've been very helpful, but I have just _one_ more question for you. Now, when you all were whipping Tsarina and leaving her hung up all night… which one of you actually did the lashing?"

"Who do you _think_?" She groaned, clearly feeling the pain in her legs. "I'm just sorry that I won't be there to see when Domina does the same thing to _you_ … now is this the part where you tie me to a balloon, and Big Boss _magically_ convinces me to join his cause?"

Sure, that might have been what the Boss would have done, and there was no doubt that Kumari would have fallen under his sway just like all the others. But Big Boss was a hero, he was an icon that stood for everything that was right in the world, and a shining example for others to follow. Mongoose, however, was not… so he aimed at Kumari's head, and pulled the trigger.


	8. Chapter 8 Transport Truck

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Eight: Transport Truck**

For some reason a lot of people became uneasy when it came to searching the bodies of enemies, but having done so at least a hundred times while he was a child soldier, Mongoose was perfectly fine with digging through Kumari's pockets for anything that could be of use to him. Her pistol wasn't silenced, but there was plenty of 9mm ammo that he could use, as well as her radio, which enabled the young man to listen to their communications once he copied the stored frequencies into his own.

Other than that, the Valkyrie soldier carried surprisingly little, so Mongoose left her body tied up in the basement when he finally left the house a short while later. Now in the coldest part of the night, the young man shivered a little, sticking to the shadows while making his way back down to the warehouse. There were still a couple hours left before sunrise, but the time needed to be used wisely, since regardless of how harsh the cold was, the night still concealed his movements.

" _Mongoose, this is Big Boss_." A voice on his radio said. " _What's your status, kid_?"

"Kumari's dead, Boss." Mongoose replied after taking cover behind one of the houses. "She gave me a solid lead, though; a place twenty miles away called _DYE-2_ … Huey's checking it out for me."

The Boss seemed pleased that he was able to take down another one of the Valkyries, but this came with a warning once the young man described the whole encounter. According to the Boss, Kumari foolishly gave up her advantage in order to give him a fair fight. While this notion was certainly noble, such sentiments had no place on the battlefield, proven by the choice to shoot her after the fight was over. In the end there were no heroes or villains when it came to war, just two people trying to kill each other, with the survivor being the one who wanted it more.

" _Still… you did good, kid_." Big Boss continued. " _You keep this up, and get our people home… I might just have to change your codename to Snake_."

"I won't let you down, Boss." Mongoose replied, suddenly feeling prideful. "At this rate, I'll have our people home by tomorrow."

Big Boss simply replied that he hoped so, since tomorrow night the rescue operation into Cuba was going to be executed, and then the communication was ended. The idea of having his codename changed to Snake, the same one that the Boss was given during the Snake Eater mission, made him just about as excited as a little kid at Christmas. However, before that could happen, there were MSF operatives to rescue, and Valkyries to be eliminated, so the young man stood up, and continued on toward the warehouses.

Figuring that he would have to rush to get back there before the truck returned for Kumari, Mongoose got back into the same place that he had been in before ambushing that first guard, and there he waited. After the first hour passed by, the young man started to worry that he had perhaps missed the truck… but then he remembered that to go to DYE-2 and return was a total trip of forty miles, and the truck hadn't exactly been moving fast when it departed. So he waited for a while longer, and just when he was starting to consider following them on foot, a set of headlights came into view.

"Finally." He grumbled to himself as the truck appeared.

As it had done before, the transport vehicle slowly rolled its way into town, pulled up to the warehouse, and parked before the group of soldiers climbed out of the back. Using his scope to watch them, two went into the warehouse, most likely searching for Kumari, only to return and report to the others that no one was inside. The one they reported to seemed frustrated for a moment, probably eager to get back to base and out of the cold, so he motioned for them to look around, before turning on his radio.

" _CP, this is Baker 1_." He reported. " _We've reached the warehouse, but Kumari is nowhere to be found_."

" _This is CP; understood, Baker 1_." Another voice replied. " _New orders from Domina… spread out and search the whole town… find Kumari, and check for any signs of enemy forces_."

Instantly reacting to their orders like good soldiers, they spread out and began checking between nearby houses with their flashlights. A couple of them also started investigating the rest of the warehouses, creating a pattern where no one was completely out of sight to each other for more than a couple seconds at a time, but as efficient as their formation was, Baker Team had made a single mistake: Aside from a single guard, and the driver… their truck was unguarded.

It would be a while before anyone discovered Kumari's body, but Mongoose didn't want to stay in Upernavik any longer than he had to, so as soon as the search team was far enough away, and the guard turned his back, the young man made his move. The guard groaned while rubbing the back of his head as Mongoose approached, meaning that he was probably the same one that he had ambushed before, and this made it even more rewarding to give him a second, identical hit. The guard was caught completely by surprise, groaning in pain as he collapsed to the ground, and then the young man made his way around to the passenger side of the truck.

Being careful to stay below where the side view mirror could see him, Mongoose took out his pistol before pulling the door open, and jumping inside. The masked driver was startled… a woman, based on the way her gasp sounded, as well as the way her uniform fit… and then she put up her hands when she saw that his weapon was aimed at her torso.

"Good morning, sweetheart." He said quietly, closing the door. "Now, why don't you be a good girl, and start driving this thing back the way you came?"

Without resisting, or making an attempt to call for help, the driver put the truck into reverse. She backed up as much as was needed in order for them to turn around, and then switched gears, before slowly starting away from Upernavik. Maybe the girl was new, or wasn't quite as dedicated to… whatever the Valkyries' cause was, because she still hadn't tried to resist by the time they reached the village limits. Mongoose didn't plan on killing her unless he had to, but she would have no way of knowing that, so the driver played it smart.

"So this DYE-2 place… what is it?" He asked, taking a quick look to see if they were being followed. "Military Base? Research Facility? What?"

" _CP, this is Baker 1_." A voice on the radio interrupted urgently. " _Our transport is missing_."

" _This is CP, it must've been recalled_." The other voice replied. " _Continue your mission, and another one will be sent for you when it is finished_."

Mongoose chuckled at the response given from CP. Forget the fact that they were looking for possible enemy infiltrators, just accept that the truck was gone and carry on with the mission… how _ignorant_ was that? Suddenly the young man realized that the transport truck was slowing down, and soon they had come to a complete stop, with the female driver putting on the parking break, even though his pistol was still pointed at her.

"What are you doing?" He asked, aiming at her head.

"Stopping the truck." She replied, turning her head to smile at him. "This is where you get out."

According to Kumari, DYE-2 was twenty miles away from Upernavik, but the truck couldn't have gone any further than five or six miles so far, so what was the driver doing. However, before the young man could get any kind of an answer to this question, the driver moved her arm with amazing speed, taking the pistol away from him, and striking Mongoose in the side of the head with it in one fluid motion. She hit him three more times in the arm and head before he could react, and then the driver threw out her leg, kicking him so that he fell against the door.

The door opened upon impact, causing the young man to cry out in surprise when he found himself tumbling down into the snow. Hearing the driver side door open, Mongoose rolled under the truck in an attempt to grab her legs when she jumped down, but instead the sound of her landing came from behind him. She must've opened that door to trick him, and it worked, because suddenly he felt her grab onto his ankles before quickly dragging him back out.

The driver started to pull him to his feet once he was out from under the truck, so Mongoose grabbed her around the waist in an attempt to tackle her, like what had happened with Kumari. However, _this_ woman was able to not only keep her balance, but also bend forward and grab _him_ by the waist, before tossing him sideways toward the front of the truck as if he weighed no more than a child.

Rolling through the snow, the young man jumped to his feet in order to grab her, but found himself stumbling backwards into the path of the headlights when she knocked his arms away and booted him in the chest. She chuckled as she approached, so Mongoose took a swing at her, only to have her drop down and kick his feet out from under him, knocking the wind out of him when he landed on his back.

His next effort was stopped when she kicked him in the face as he sat up, and then she got down and straddled his waist, grabbing his wrists when he tried to fight her off. Chuckling again as she slowly overpowered him, the driver was able to pin his wrists down above his head, and then keep them there with one hand while the other quickly pulled off her balaclava so that her face was visible.

"And I was so _sure_ that Big Boss would come this time." Domina said, whipping her head around to fix her hair. "Still… I'm _very_ happy to see _you_ again."


	9. Chapter 9 Captive

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Nine: Captive**

Twisting his body, and struggling with his arms, Mongoose tried everything he could think of to get out of Domina's grip, but it just wasn't working. In fact, she seemed amused by his efforts, even going so far as to chuckle a bit before punching him in the forehead with her free hand. Even though the young man had been on the receiving end of her wrath once before, it still amazed him how incredibly strong the Valkyries' leader was, and this single hit was more than enough to stop his struggles.

"There now, that's better." Domina said as his vision came back into focus. "I should congratulate you… when I lost contact with Kumari, I just _had_ to return with the truck myself, because I was _so_ certain that it would be Big Boss that I ran into…. but your plan to distract me worked like a _charm_ , didn't it? So where is he, hmm? Where's your Boss?"

Mongoose wasn't sure what to think of her questions, but whatever she was expecting him to say, apparently he took too long to answer. The polite smile slowly faded from Domina's face until it became the same twisted scowl that he had seen in Madagascar, and once again his vision went out of focus when she punched him. Repeating her question as to the location of Big Boss, and being unhappy that he had nothing to say, the Valkyrie leader went to punch him again, when she suddenly stopped.

The young man could feel the hand that was restraining him feeling around on his wrists, and then her smile returned as she leaned forward to take the knife out of his hidden sheath. Mongoose couldn't help gasping when she looked at the blade, a twinge of pain coming from his back with the memory of what she had done to him with it last time, and then Domina moved the weapon down to his neck so that he could feel the sharp edge against his skin.

"I fell for your trick, _boy_ , but I'm not an idiot." She said calmly, pressing the blade so that he had to tilt his head back. "You've done a pretty good job of concealing his arrival, but if you think I'll believe for _one second_ that the legendary Big Boss would send a _punk_ like you here to take me down all by yourself, why… why I would almost feel insulted."

So _that_ was it… even though she had captured him and could end his mission just barely after it had begun, Domina was convinced that Mongoose was nothing but a decoy. From the urgency of her questions, she must've been paranoid that Big Boss was already moving against her, probably taking down more of her fellow Valkyries at that very moment… but the Boss _wasn't_ there. He was back on Mother Base, prepping for the mission to extract Chico and Paz from Cuba… but Domina thought he was there in Greenland.

Of course, Mongoose wasn't about to tell her any of this, mostly because it was probably all that was keeping him alive, but Domina was not happy with his silence. Moving the knife from his throat, she slid the blade across his cheek, making the young man cry out as his blood dripped onto the snow, but then his whole body froze when she put the tip of the blade up to his eye.

"I understand… really, I do." She said while his eye twitched. "You look up to Big Boss, he's like a father to you… you'd do _anything_ for him, wouldn't you? I expect the same loyalty from my Valkyries, but I'm not just a commander to them, so in a way… I'm the same as him."

"You're _nothing_ like Big Boss!" The young man spat, momentarily forgetting about the knife. "You're a tyrant, who uses fear and pain to keep her soldiers in line… Kumari told me what you did to Tsarina."

He expected her to get angry about that last comment, but instead she just smiled again before moving the knife away, and punching him again. Domina then removed his radio and pulled the earpiece away as she stood up, dropping the knife where he could easily reach it. The Valkyrie leader seemed to ignore him completely while she tossed the radio back into the truck, but he didn't plan on wasting this chance.

Getting to his feet as quickly as he could, Mongoose grabbed the knife and stabbed at her, but she simply brought her foot up backwards, striking him in the groin with her heel. The young man let out a kind of squeaking noise, leaning against the front of the truck as she tossed the rest of his equipment back inside, and when Domina came back from the driver side, she had a length of rope that she dropped onto the ground.

"So, you don't like how I discipline my troops?" She asked, only partially standing in the headlights. "Or is it just that you're sweet on Tsarina? I don't blame you, she's a beautiful girl, but I _promise_ you that there is _no_ room for love on the battlefield. I'm sure you'll learn that in time, or… you might also lose your life in the next hour… funny how that works, isn't it?"

She glanced down at the rope before smiling again, making it more than obvious what it was for when she went to grab him. However, Domina was forced to pull her hand back when Mongoose slashed at her with the knife, and then he rammed into her, forcing the Valkyrie leader up against the truck, and using his body to hold back her arms while stabbing the knife right toward her stomach.

Domina managed to twist her body to the side at the last second, making some sparks fly as the blade destroyed one of the truck's headlights instead, and then she palm-struck him in the chest while taking the knife away, laughing to herself when the young man fell on his rear in the snow. He thought that she was going to toss the knife at him, but instead Domina tossed it back into the truck with the rest of his gear, before a set of handcuffs out from behind her back.

"Okay, this has been amusing." She said, opening the cuffs. "But here's what's about to happen… I'm going to put these on your wrists, and then I'm going to tie you up with that rope down there, and no… I don't believe there's _anything_ that you can do about it. Here I come."

There was no way that he was going to allow her to tie him up, so Mongoose changed up his approach by grabbing her wrists, and rushing forward with his knee out to knock the wind out of her. However, Domina avoided it by bending forward, and with a flash of quick movement she snapped the cuffs onto one of his wrists. Now trying to keep his wrists apart, he stomped on her foot to hold it in place while making a karate chop at the side of her neck, but the Valkyrie leader stopped this by jamming her knee into his stomach.

"Not bad." She commented, forcing him to the ground, and cuffing his hands behind his back. "Most soldiers can't take more than a couple hits from me before passing out, but you're made of real _solid_ stuff, aren't you? Hell, I bet you're worth your weight in _gold_ to Big Boss, but… you're _mine_ , now. You see, the name _Domina_ is the female derivative to the Roman word _Dominus_ , which means _Master_ in English. But the Romans always put an identifying mark on their slaves, so… that means I have to brand you, _solid boy_."

Mongoose kicked at her and tried to roll away, but she just grabbed him by the handcuffs and back of the neck, pulling him to his feet, and making him walk over to the open driver-side door of the truck. Forcing him face first up against the door frame, Domina grabbed the cigarette lighter, and the young man saw the red glow that meant it was ready, just before feeling the searing pain as it was pressed hard into his palm.

Trying to take the pain, he couldn't help crying out in agony as she just kept pushing and twisting the red hot lighter into his palm, until finally ripping it away, which hurt even worse than the burning, itself. The Valkyrie leader let go of him, putting the lighter back into place while Mongoose fell to the ground, still moaning in pain as he pressed handfuls of snow onto the burn. He did this over and over again, so focused on trying to cool down or even numb the pain that just wasn't going away, that he didn't realize what Domina was doing until she tied the rope around his neck.

She tied it in such a way that it would never come off without the use of his hands, and then she fed the other end through the highest part of the truck's frame, so that when she pulled on it, the young man was forced to his feet. The Valkyrie leader held it so that his feet could just touch the ground enough to keep from choking him, and there she tied the end so that it was just as inescapable.

"Well, _solid boy_ , you've been bound and branded." Domina continued, checking the knots. "You are a _slave_ , and _I_ am your Domina, meaning that your life is in my hands. Of course, with the whole _Roman irony_ theme we've established, I can't very well call you _solid boy_ , now can I? No, of course not, silly. So, from now on you'll be my little… _Solidus_. At least for as long as you can keep up with the truck."

Without another word, she jumped back into the truck, put it in gear, and released the clutch. She wasn't going very fast, but just enough to where he had to sprint to keep up with the vehicle, since if he were to lose his balance and fall, the rope would certainly choke him to death. Looking up at the side view mirror, Mongoose could see her laughing at him as she accelerated a little. And apparently this wasn't the first time she had done this to someone, since she seemed to know exactly when to slow down so that he wouldn't fall, as well as when to speed up so that he didn't get a moment's rest.

"You're doing great back there, _Solidus_!" Domina yelled out the window. "I'm sure that Tsarina would be cheering you on! So let's go faster!"

She sped up again, making the rope pull tighter while the young man tried to keep up. The snow made the terrain so uneven, and since the sky was only starting to light up with the first crack of dawn, there was no way to tell when… or _if_ she was going to stop.


	10. Chapter 10 Upernavik East Guardpost

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Ten: Upernavik East Guardpost**

 _March 7_ _th_ _, 1975, 0827 hrs._

 _Just outside of Upernavik, Greenland_

For a while it looked like the only way for Empty Mongoose's torment to end was for him to fall and get strangled to death by the rope. After all, according to Kumari, this DYE-2 place was twenty miles away from Upernavik, but judging by the speed that the truck was moving, and how high the sun was getting in the sky, Domina couldn't have made him run more than three more miles on top of the five or six that they had already gone. However, it was getting harder to keep up with the truck now, and then the young man's foot struck a rock that had been hidden under the snow.

There was no way to stop himself from falling forward, and then his oxygen supply was cut off; the rope around his neck now strangling him while the truck dragged his feet across the frozen terrain. Struggling for breath, but getting none, Mongoose's vision started to go black, and he found himself thinking about home. He thought about the good times on Mother Base, and all the missions he had been sent on since being recruited by Big Boss… and he wanted Tsarina to be there with him.

Suddenly the daydream was interrupted as the young man found himself able to draw in a rasping breath when the rope was cut away, and it took a few seconds for him to realize that Domina had both stopped the truck, and cut him down. This explained why he was lying in the snow, with her looking down at him, chuckling to herself while he coughed to catch his breath.

"You look a little red in the face, Solidus." She commented, using the toe of her boot to turn his head up toward her. "You should be proud though… the last person I did that to didn't walk away. Now, on your feet."

Bending down and grabbing him by the front of the shirt, the Valkyrie leader roughly pulled him to his feet, only to spin him around and march him forward toward what looked like a small guard outpost. There was a wooden watchtower, a covered area with chairs positioned around a burning fire barrel, and finally a metal shack, probably for whichever guards were off-shift at the time. As far as people, though, Mongoose counted four.

"I got a special detail for you boys." Domina said after returning the guards' salute. "Keep this prisoner detained here until I personally inform you otherwise. I can't risk his Boss finding him, or even knowing that he's missing, at least until I find him. Keep his gear, too, so that it can't accidently be discovered, and absolutely _no_ radio traffic from this outpost. Clear?"

"Yes, Domina." One of the guards replied, pointing to the shack. "We can keep him tied up in there."

She nodded, turning Mongoose, and forcing him to walk again until he was standing in the doorway of the shack, where she suddenly stopped and made him turn to face her. It looked like she was going to say something, but instead Domina slammed her knee into his groin, before giving him an uppercut to the chin that knocked him off his feet.

"That was for Kumari." She said as he fell over one of the cots. "Boys, don't feed or talk to him, and if he gives you _any_ trouble at all, you can shoot him. See you in a few days, Solidus."

She slammed the door shut, with the young man hearing it being barred from the other side a few seconds later. Well, with the guards having orders to basically ignore him, and Domina herself saying that he was going to be left there for a few days, this gave Mongoose plenty of time to come up with a plan. The first thing he needed to do was get out of those handcuffs, so he waited until he heard the sound of Domina's truck driving away, and then he stretched and twisted his upper body while bringing his feet up toward his back as far as he could.

He had used this trick once a number of years before, when he had been captured once as a child soldier. The idea was to bring the handcuffs around his feet to the front, so that he would have use of his arms in order to figure out the rest of the escape. So he struggled, hoping that he hadn't grown too much or put on too much weight for this to work… and it was one hell of a struggle where he thought that his arms were going to pop right out of their sockets, but it worked.

"Domina sure is sexy, huh?" He heard one of the guards ask while giving his arms a break. "I bet she's dynamite in the sack."

"Yeah, dynamite that'll blow your damn head off." Another one replied. "You see that poor bastard she brought in? Looks like she worked him over real good… heard she does that to _anyone_ that upsets her…. hell, I don't know why Saunders keeps her around at all."

Who the hell was Saunders? Mongoose wondered as he searched around for something to either break or pick the cuffs with, and this search gave him time to try and piece together some of the Intel that he had gathered. Aside from the Valkyrie Special Forces, who seemed to be from all over the world, the guards that he had seen so far all spoke English, but with a variety of accents that could have only come from America. So what was a large, American unit doing there in Greenland? Were they Army? CIA? Probably CIA… but what was the CIA doing there? And why had they taken the MSF operatives?

The guards' idle chatter, mostly about Domina, carried on until Mongoose found a pen lying on the floor under one of the cots. It wasn't exactly the tool that he had been looking for, but after taking it apart, and extracting the ink tube, he very carefully worked it into the keyhole. The biggest danger was that the tube would bend or break, which would leave him stuck, so he was patient, moving slow until the lock of the first one opened with a _click_. The second one opened a short time later as well, so he put the cuffs in his back pocket, but then heard the sound of someone messing with the door.

It took a few seconds for the bar to be taken off the door, giving the young man the time he needed to stand near the cot with his hands behind his back as if he were still restrained. The good news, as the door opened and all four guards came in, was that he no longer needed to worry about how to open the door… the bad news, however, was that there were now four armed guards standing _between_ him and that door.

"Hi, guys." Mongoose said politely. "I thought Domina said you weren't supposed to talk to me."

"Shut your commie mouth." One of them ordered, aiming his rifle as he stepped forward. "It's because of shitheads like _you_ that we're stuck up here in this frozen hell-hole."

"Yeah, and you're gonna _pay_ for that, _comrade_." Another one said, also stepping forward. "By the time we're done with you, you're gonna be eating your meals through a straw… or maybe not, since Domina said we could shoot you if you gave us any problems. How's _that_ sound to you, huh?"

"Sounds like I'm in trouble." Mongoose answered, causing a few snickers from the guards. "But I have a better idea."

Bringing his arms around, the young man grabbed his rifle and spun it upward, striking the first guard in the chin hard enough to knock him down. Mongoose then turned and slammed the stock of the weapon right between the next guard's eyes before he could react, before stepping backwards and aiming at all of them.

"Don't even think about it!" He shouted as the other two tried raising their rifles. "Toss your weapons out the door, all of you! Slowly… rifles, pistols, and anything else you all got!"

The guards hesitated, and this was expected. After all, even though he had them at gunpoint, there was no guarantee that Mongoose could shoot all of them before they were able to fight back, but he just hoped that _they_ didn't realize that. Even if they did, there was a strong chance that at least two of them would be killed, and it didn't look like any of them were in too big a hurry to be a hero today.

"I suggest you hurry, boys." He continued while they kept looking at each other. "Every second that passes, means that Domina gets a little further away, making it less likely that she will hear anything and come back here if I start shooting. Now toss your weapons out the door, and move over to the far side of the room."

It took a few more seconds, but eventually one of them tossed his rifle out the door, and the others followed suit, completely disarming themselves. Mongoose nodded to them, and motioned for them to all stand together in the far corner of the shack with their hands up. The guards complied, and Mongoose kept them there for a few more minutes, just to make sure that Domina couldn't hear when he started shooting. There was nothing the guards could do as the bullets tore through them, flashes of light and thunderous echoes filling the shack while they fell down one at a time, and then it was over.

"You should've just followed orders." The young man said as he walked out of the shack. "Oh, well… it's better than what _Domina_ would do to you."

Closing and barring the door behind him, Mongoose collected the all the ammo for his pistol and new rifle, before finding his equipment on one of the chairs next to the fire barrel. Reclaiming his knife, pistol, and Int-Scope, he had just put the radio and receiver back on, when he started looking around the guard outpost to see if there was a vehicle.

" _Escaped already, did you_?" A soft female voice said over the radio. " _Domina told us to start looking for Big Boss, but I figured someone should check on you_."

"Tsarina?" He asked, taking cover and using the scope to look around. "Good to hear your voice again, Princess… where are you?"

From his covered position, Mongoose used the scope's infrared function to try and locate her body heat along the hills and tundra that surrounded the outpost, but he couldn't see anything. Staying low, and moving to cover behind the shack, he looked around again, but couldn't see anything, even with the light-limiting function that allowed for the use of the NVG during daylight hours.

" _Don't call me Princess_." Her voice replied sternly. " _I don't like it… but as to where I am… let me give you a hint_."

Suddenly a gunshot was heard, and then a large caliber bullet slammed into the side of the scope, shattering it completely as Mongoose fell backwards.


	11. Chapter 11 Sniper

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Eleven: Sniper**

Scooting backwards so that he was once again behind the metal shack, Mongoose pressed himself up against the wall, trying to not even breathe. Listening for any kind of movement while trying not to make any noise of his own, his eyes moved down to the broken pieces of the Int-scope, cursing his luck since it had been his best bet for finding, say, a female sniper who was hidden in the snow.

" _Mongoose, I've got something for you_." Huey's voice said over the radio, making him jump. " _DYE-2 is the codename for an American Radar Base, which is one of several spread throughout Greenland to detect incoming Soviet missiles… thing is, it's listed as being hundreds of miles south of you, not thirteen miles east_."

"This isn't really a good time, Huey." The young man whispered back. "I'm pinned down by a sniper, so I'll have to call you back."

Checking his weapons, Mongoose realized that although well-armed with the rifle, pistol, and grenades that he had taken from the guards, none of it was going to be particularly useful against a long range rifle. Still, he could at least figure out where she was shooting from, so he picked up one of the guards' canteens, and tossed it into Tsarina's line of fire. The idea was to watch for when she took a shot at it, in order to get a better guess at her distance or direction, but it was kind of hard to determine since the canteen was hit by another bullet after only just barely leaving his hand.

" _What's the matter, Mongoose_?" Tsarina's voice asked on the radio. " _Look, I'm waving at you, can't you see me? Of course you can't, not while I'm wearing Valkyrie signature camouflage_."

The young man had nearly forgotten how Domina and the others had just appeared out of thin air during their first meeting in Madagascar, and if Tsarina was wearing the same kind of device, or whatever it was, it meant that he was in deep trouble. Without the Int-scope to see her body heat, and he doubted that improvements hadn't been made to the energy-sapping device that The Fear had worn in the early 60's, so how would…

"Huey, are you still there?" Mongoose asked hopefully. "I need your help… you can pinpoint my location somehow, right?"

" _Huh? Yes, of course_." The Scientist's voice replied. " _The satellite we're using to communicate with you can also be used to triangulate your position by analyzing your signal strength, and…_

Huey continued to drone on and on about scientific what-not, but all the young man needed to know was that the answer was _yes_. And more importantly… was it possible to use the same process to find someone else who was broadcasting to the same radio? The answer to this question was also _yes_ , although the explanation was even more complicated this time. Well, it wasn't _quite_ as good as having an Int-scope, but it was better than nothing, so he told Huey to monitor his transmission, before switching frequencies back to Tsarina.

"Kumari told me what happened to you, Tsarina." Mongoose began, hoping that his plan would somehow work. "What Domina put you through, I mean… I suppose that's your punishment was my fault, since you got it for letting me go, so… I'm sorry, Princess, if it means anything."

" _It does… and I accept your apology_." Her voice replied. " _After all, you tried to protect me from Domina, and I'm sure that you got some kind of punishment as well for failing your mission, so you could say that we're even. But… I told you to stop calling me Princess, so let me give you a little kiss_."

Suddenly another gunshot rang out, and the bullet passed so close to the young man's head that he could almost see it passing by, before a stinging sensation flashed across his cheek. Reflexively diving around the corner of the shack, Mongoose touched his face, and there was some blood on his hand when he pulled it back. Apparently whatever kind of stealth system she was wearing, it was good enough so that she could move without him seeing her, making him pretty well defenseless.

" _Mongoose, I've got it_!" Huey's voice exclaimed. " _I triangulated the signal of the person who was just transmitting, and they're only twenty meters away; directly due west of your position_!"

" _You can't win this time_." Tsarina's voice cut-in before he could reply. " _Your only options are death or surrender, but I'm not as harsh as Domina, so come out where I can see that handsome face of yours. I want you to walk backwards with your hands up, and then get on your knees, interlocking your fingers and crossing your feet at the ankles. Fifteen seconds before I shoot again_."

Twenty meters away and due west was what Huey had told him, so instead of coming out as she instructed, he took one of the grenades off his belt… a _Flashbang_ that he had recovered from a guard. Pulling the pin and letting the spoon fly off, Mongoose tossed it upward so that the grenade arched over the shack, and when it detonated there was a scream in the background, followed by what sounded like an electrical disturbance, as well as a bullet flying through the wall just inches from his back.

This was probably his only chance to beat her, so the young man jumped up and ran around the shack, quickly spotting the girl as she stumbled sideways. Her stealth system had failed, leaving Tsarina visible as she rubbed her eyes, and leaving her completely unprepared for when he knocked the rifle out of her hand. She gasped in shock, trying to move back to avoid him, but by this time Mongoose was already behind her.

"Hello again, _Princess_." He said, putting her into the same hold he had used on her before. "Sweet dreams."

Tsarina gasped when he cinched down on her neck, flailing around and kicking as he pulled her down into a sitting position. Just like before, she slowly got weaker until passing out, and then Mongoose let go of her neck in order to bind her hands behind her back with Domina's handcuffs. He had already stayed at this guard post for too long, and there was no telling when the Valkyrie's leader was going to return, so he put the girl over his shoulder, and picked up her rifle as well.

Hoping to find another transport truck or something similar to what Domina had been driving, the only vehicle he had seen was a snowmobile near the tower before Tsarina had started shooting. It was better than walking, and so long as it was in working order, could move even faster than the trucks, if the rider didn't mind the wind-shill, that is. Well, there was fuel in the tank, and it fired up after a few pull of the starter, so Mongoose put Tsarina across the seat in front of him, and took off in the same direction the truck had gone.

"It worked, Huey." He said into the receiver. "I got the sniper, and I'm back on course… man, I really owe you for the assist back there."

" _Teamwork isn't a tit-for-tat system, kid_." Big Boss's voice replied, surprising him. " _But I'll pass on your thanks just the same. Sorry I had to leave you hanging like that; the mission to get Paz and Chico is gonna be a tough one, and I only have another day to prepare… anyway, tell me everything I missed_."

Beginning with capturing the truck, Mongoose told the Boss everything that had happened; getting ambushed and captured by Domina, having to run across the tundra in order to stay alive, and everything he had learned about DYE-2 and the unit that was supporting the Valkyrie Special Forces. The young man then told him exactly how he had escaped, and about the confrontation with Tsarina.

"I feel really bad about those guards, Boss." He continued, keeping the snowmobile inside the transport truck's tracks. "I mean, I had them disarmed and helpless, but they would've alerted Domina if I let them live… was there another way?"

" _Hmm… I doubt it_." Big Boss replied after thinking for a second. " _If there was nothing to tie them up with, and even if you knocked them out, they would've alerted her to your escape sooner or later. You know, during the Snake Eater mission, I nearly drowned and had some kind of hallucination where a man called The Sorrow made me confront everyone that I had ever killed. It was horrible, and there were a lot more people there than I'd like to admit, but I want you to share the lesson that I took from it_."

This lesson was that stealth and patience were the most important things to practice during a mission, not just for the infiltrator, but for the enemy as well. By this the Boss meant that every time Mongoose or any other infiltrator was spotted, more people had to die in order to make sure the mission was accomplished. Big Boss doubted that _The Sorrow_ was going to show up for the young man any time soon, and he honestly couldn't blame him for silencing the guards, so Operation Jailbreak was to continue as planned.

" _I want you to find a place to lie low for the day_." The Boss continued. "You're too exposed, well, everywhere during daylight hours, so conceal your location, get any Intel you can out of Tsarina, and then continue onto DYE-2, or whatever Domina's base it called once the sun goes down."

"Got it, Boss." Mongoose replied, now keeping a lookout for anything that could be used as shelter. "I promise you, I'll get our people home, but don't worry, I won't be taking on Domina again any time soon. Oh, and Boss… thanks."

The transmission ended, and the young man sped up the snowmobile, hoping to find somewhere to hide before Domina, or anyone else came along.


	12. Chapter 12 Rinks Isbrae

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Twelve: Rinks Isbrae**

 _March 7_ _th_ _, 1975, 1526 hrs._

 _Rinks Isbrae Trading Village, Greenland_

" _Honey, I'm home_." Mongoose said sarcastically, walking through the door of the small shack. "And I brought lunch, Princess… I hope you like smoked salmon."

The only other person in the shack, Tsarina, didn't share his amused attitude, probably because she was sitting on the floor, with her hands behind her back, handcuffed to one of the metal supports in the same manner that he had done with Kumari. The difference was that she was gagged as well, and her bootlaces had been tied around the boots and then together in a horrific knot that couldn't have been escaped without the use of her hands.

Obeying Big Boss's orders, the young man had continued to follow the truck's trail until it hit somewhere that he could use as a hiding place until the sun went down. That _somewhere_ turned out to be the small trading village of Rinks Isbrae, which sat just beyond the halfway point between Upernavik and the site that was allegedly DYE-2. Thanks to the uniform that he had stolen from one of the guards, and a rather convincing American accent, he had been able to secure a place to stay for the night, since the locals just thought he was one of their regular customers.

There had been the matter of the bloodstain just below the neck on his uniform, but Tsarina's scarf did a nice job of hiding it while he bartered for food. Did he have to lift some American Dollars from some of the other soldiers that were there? Yes. And did he nearly get spotted carrying Tsarina into the shack? Yes, again. But now that the hard part was over, all he had to do was wait for nightfall in order to infiltrate Domina's instillation. Until then, it was time to eat, so he took off Tsarina's gag.

"Not going to untie the rest of me?" She asked angrily after moving her jaw around a bit. "What, are you scared I'll get away? Or do you just get off on seeing a girl all tied up like this?"

"I'd be _lying_ if I said no to either one." Mongoose replied, sitting down in front of her. "But you shouldn't complain… after all, I _shot_ the _last_ girl I had tied up like this."

For a moment a look of fear crossed the girl's face, but she relaxed a little when he told her that all he wanted to do was talk to her. She didn't seem too upset about Kumari, though, since it turns out that she was the one who Domina had give her the lashes after failing in Madagascar. The young man had seen the marks on her lower back during the ride on the snowmobile, and with as pronounced and frequent as they were, well… any chance of him feeling bad for killing Kumari were gone.

"So why don't you tell me about my friends?" Mongoose asked, cutting up the salmon into squares. "You know, where they are, why they were taken, their condition… just normal mealtime conversation."

"The Americans hired us to collect them." Tsarina explained. "Them, along with samples from other Militaries all over the world, but I don't know why… only Domina and Saunders would know that, but… I can't really tell you anything that Kumari already didn't."

The young man shrugged before picking up one of the salmon squares and popping it into his mouth. It wasn't bad, although he'd had better in the past, but it was better than starving. So he picked up another square, and held it up for his guest. She was clearly taken aback by this gesture, since it would be embarrassing to be hand-fed by the enemy, but on the other hand the girl's stomach suddenly rumbled loud enough for him to hear.

"Come on, Princess, eat your lunch like a good girl." Mongoose continued. "Here comes the train… _choo-choo_."

Tsarina couldn't help laughing at how ridiculous this situation was, closing her eyes and shaking her head for a second before eating the salmon. Not much else was said after that, at least not until the salmon was gone, and then the young man asked her who this Saunders person was. Again there wasn't much that the girl could say, or at least not that she was coming forward with, but it was something. He had already expected that they were both CIA _and_ a woman, since they were working with Valkyrie Special Forces, and his guest was able to confirm at least that much.

"So does this mean you aren't going to kill me?" The girl asked, fidgeting around nervously. "I heard that Big Boss kidnaps and brainwashes most of his people, so… is that what's going to happen to me? You… you don't _really_ send them up in those _Fulton_ things, do you… I don't like heights."

"No, I'm not going to kill you, Princess." Mongoose answered, brushing his thumb across the scar that she had recently given him. "And I don't have any Fulton equipment, so I can't _extract_ you either… although I do have to repay you for a little _kiss_ you gave me earlier."

Taking out his knife and moving toward her, Tsarina closed her eyes tightly, looking away as he reached for her. But instead of cutting her, the young man gave her a kiss on the cheek while reaching around and using the knife to open her handcuffs. Remaining just as close to her, he put the knife back in the sheath while she rubbed her wrists, and then untied her feet as well, retying her boots just as they had been before.

"I need your help, Princess." He continued as she looked up at her. "I won't ask you to betray your unit or fight against Domina… but I need to get my friends back. Help me bring my people home, and… well, after that it's up to you. You can stay here with Valkyrie and I'll swear that you fought against me the whole time, or… maybe there's a place for you in Outer Heaven."

"Well, I don't know about all that." The girl replied, still rubbing her wrists. "But I do know that you'll _never_ be able to beat Domina… not without a suit like the one she wears under her uniform."

Tsarina went on to explain that the Valkyrie leader's abilities in combat were exceptional on her own, but in addition to wearing the new _stealth system_ , her incredible strength and durability came from a special prototype kind of _muscle suit_ that the Americans had developed after the _FOX Rebellion_ in 1970. It easily gave her the strength of five men, as Mongoose had seen first-hand during their fight in front of the truck. The stealth system might have given him the edge that he needed in order to beat her, but Tsarina's had been fried by the stun grenade, and Kumari hadn't been carrying one for some reason.

"The suit is meant to be used against Big Boss." Tsarina continued. "I've been monitoring your radio transmissions since _Morpho_ dropped you off, and I know you're alone here… but Domina is convinced that you're just a cover for the real operation, and that's the _only_ reason she didn't beat you to death when she had you pinned. You're in a lot of trouble if she finds out your Boss isn't even in Greenland."

"Then let's not let her find out." Mongoose replied. "So will you help me get my friends back?"

The girl was hesitant, being that what he was asking her to do was a step below treason, which Domina was sure to punish her for _harshly_ if things went bad… hell, at that point, killing would be a mercy. The young man was about to offer her instead the opportunity for them both to go their separate ways since Domina had ordered her to look for Big Boss, with both pretending that they had never seen each other, but to Mongoose's surprise, she nodded in agreement.

"I won't help you fight the Valkyries." She stated, shifting to a more comfortable position. "But I'll help you get the MSF operatives back… they're in one of the basements at the DYE-2 installation, but there's plenty of guards, and you'll have to wait till nightfall if you want to sneak in… I guess that means I'm waiting till nightfall as well, since you won't get in without me… at least not without setting off the alarm… or if you keep calling me Princess… I told you I don't like it."

"Thank you… _Tsarina_." He replied with a wink before turning on his radio. "Boss, it's Mongoose; I've got some good news for a change."

Thankfully Big Boss was still there, but he had to do some more preparations for the upcoming mission into Cuba, so there wasn't much time for Mongoose to update him on everything that happened. The Boss was happy that he had gotten Tsarina to help him, but after a sort of cryptic warning about Eva, the woman who had helped him during the Snake Eater mission, he turned his concerns to Domina.

" _I don't want you going after her, kid_." Big Boss's voice explained. " _You're not ready to take on someone like her, especially with that muscle suit… but I do want you to find out everything you can about her. Clearly she's not a typical soldier, and MSF needs to have every edge we can get if we ever have to deal with these Valkyries again after you get our operatives home_."

"I understand, Boss." Mongoose replied. "I won't go anywhere near that psychotic bitch unless I absolutely have to."

This seemed to make the Boss happy for the moment, but then he said two other things that gave the young man mixed feelings. The first was that starting tomorrow night, while both the mission into Cuba and the IAEA inspection were happening, they would be out of contact with him. This meant that for however long as both of those took, he was going to be on his own, and that could be a very dangerous thing.

The second thing was that he was not to force Tsarina to choose directly between loyalty to Domina or joining the MSF, since each soldier had to choose their path on their own. However, once the mission was over, if she came back to Mother Base… she would be welcome there.

" _Don't say a word of either thing to her, kid_." The Boss continued. " _If Domina finds out that you're truly alone, or that your girlfriend's loyalties are wavering, it will mean certain death for both the two of you, and our missing operatives. Now try and rest up until tonight, and then go get our people. Big Boss out_."


	13. Chapter 13 Entry Point

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Thirteen: Entry Point**

 _March 8_ _th_ _, 1975, 1858 hrs._

 _8 Miles West of Rinks Isbrae, Greenland_

Following Big Boss's instructions, Empty Mongoose remained at the trading village until sunset, making it easier for he and Tsarina to continue on undetected. Trucks and other rough terrain vehicles randomly traveled up and down the route that the original transport from Upernavik had taken, so no one would pay any attention to another snowmobile that was passing by, and the young man used this lack of resistance to report in.

"Boss, its Mongoose." He said, turning the radio on as he drove. "I'm almost to the outer perimeter of _DYE-2_ … at least from what everybody tells me."

" _Be careful, kid_." Big Boss's voice replied. " _The amount of resistance you've encountered so far is nothing compared to what will be waiting for you if this is really the Valkyrie stronghold. You can expect coordinated security patrols, video surveillance, and maybe even a few surprises… assuming your girlfriend doesn't screw you over at the front gate_."

Yes, that was a danger, the young man thought as he took a quick glance back at the girl, who was riding behind him with her arms around his waist. There was every chance that she would turn him in, at which point Mongoose would be in a _very_ bad spot, but from what she had said earlier, it seemed like Tsarina was more interested in saving lives, both Valkyrie _and_ MSF, than capturing him, given that the prisoners would likely be killed if the alarm was raised, and the young man would certainly do his best to take as many of her people with him before the end.

"It's a chance I'll have to take, Boss." He continued, feeling Tsarina tighten her grip on him as they went over a slight bump. "Plus, if we actually make it through the gates, she can help me avoid Domina, and that alone is worth trusting her."

" _Sounds like a gamble either way_." Big Boss replied. " _Oh, there's something else… starting at midnight tonight, we need to have radio silence for thirty-six hours. With the IAEA inspection, and tomorrow's mission to Cuba, we can't risk anyone accidently finding out about our operations_."

This was an unpleasant, but not completely unexpected turn of events, since the Boss would be heading into a US Military base the following night to extract Chico and Paz. So for the duration of the thirty six hour silence, Mongoose was to locate the missing operatives, free them, and then exfiltrate DYE-2. Once out of the hot zone, they were to find a place to lay low until radio contact was reestablished, at which time extraction details would be given.

" _Good luck, kid_." The Boss added. " _Big Boss out_."

A hundred questions began floating across the young man's mind once the conversation was finished. Could he trust Tsarina? Were the MSF operatives still alive? How would he extract them if wounded? These questions continued to flow while Mongoose tried to come up with some kind of concrete plan, but then all of his thoughts stopped when the operating lights of a guard post came into view. No, not just a guard post… but the fortified defensive positions of a base perimeter.

There were several guards walking around, as well as a double set of heavy chain-link fence, with rolls of barb-wire along the top of its sixteen foot height. There were also a couple gun emplacements, two towers, a shed which likely held their communications system, two large track-vehicles, and enough searchlights to see anything that moved. For a moment he considered veering off the road and cutting a hole in the fence, but the searchlights from the other towers positioned around the perimeter allowed him to see that there were even more roaming guards.

" _Stay calm, Mongoose_." Tsarina's voice said as they approached the gate. " _Pull up to the guard, and let me do all the talking_."

Stay calm? He thought while slowing the snowmobile down. That was easy for _her_ to say, being that these were _her_ people he was driving up to… of course, he was still wearing the stolen snow gear, and Tsarina _was_ a Valkyrie… oh, forget it, there were too many good and bad points about this scenario to accurately predict what was about to happen, so he did what she said; pulling up to the guard, and not saying a word as he walked up to them. The last vehicle had been stopped as well, so this was just normal procedure, but that didn't stop him from feeling nervous.

"All right, let's see your ID Cards." The guard said as Tsarina started taking off her hood and goggles. "Destination, time out/in, and… oh shit, I didn't know it was _you_ , Ma'am."

"Well, now you know." Tsarina replied with a tone of annoyance and superiority that she hadn't displayed before. "But what _I'd_ like to know is why this God damn gate isn't opening yet, but that's okay… when Domina asks me why my report is late, I'll just tell her how you assholes wouldn't let me through… I'm sure she'll be _real_ happy about that."

The girl hadn't even gotten halfway through her rant when the guard waved to the others to open the gate, and the whole thing had been slid open by the time she was through talking. The guard was rightly terrified at the prospect of suffering Domina's wrath, and he was in the middle of trying to get out an apology, when Tsarina stopped his words by swinging her fist into his groin. The guard made a kind of squeaking sound before slowly sinking to his hands and knees, and Mongoose just added insult to his injury by accelerating the snowmobile fast enough to throw a stream of snow in his face as they took off.

"That was amazing, Tsarina." The young man commented while they left the gate behind. "I didn't know you could be so intimidating."

" _I was terrified the whole time_." She confessed through the radio. "Okay, keep going straight for now, but when you see a real obvious crossroads, take the right path, and follow it all the way to the end. And I've got one last thing that I can do to help you."

She then switched over to the radio frequency that he had taken from Kumari, which it had to be, since he could still hear her, and then it surprised Mongoose when she contacted Empress, one of the other Valkyries. Tsarina immediately started telling her a story about how the guards stopped her and refused to let her through, and then Tsarina forced herself to get all choked up when she told Empress that they tried to search her, making a point to try and squeeze her chest.

" _Ugh… men… they're all the same_." Empress's voice replied with both anger and compassion at the same time. " _Fucking savages, trying to corner a woman just because she's alone… don't you worry, Tsarina, I've got something for…_

" _You mean, 'I've' got something for them_." The unmistakable voice of Domina interrupted. " _I told Saunders a hundred times to keep her people in line; I'm the only one allowed to stop, question, or lay a hand on a member of Valkyrie, and I see now that an example must be made. Tsarina, take a walk or something to try and calm down, Empress… meet me at the front gate. Domina out_."

"That was… unexpected." Mongoose said once she switched back to his channel. "But you know the guards are gonna tell Domina that you lied, right?"

" _Yes, the same thing they would say if they were guilty_." Tsarina's voice replied. " _I know that the guards are going to suffer for this, but they probably won't be killed, which is more than I could say for the Valkyries if I don't keep as many of them out of your way as possible. Drop me off up here, by this building_."

He pulled up to a small power substation, and let her off just like she asked, after which she reminded him that even though Domina and Empress were distracted, it wouldn't last forever. According to her, the facility that they were using for a detention block was just up ahead at the end of the tire tracks, but security there was random, so Mongoose was on his own when it came for finding a way in. Kumari had already told him that the prisoners were in one of the basement levels, but again he would be on his own for finding them, as well as getting them out and escaping the base.

From there they parted ways, Tsarina heading into the substation for what Domina would assume was time alone from her ordeal at the front gate, and Mongoose continuing down the path on the snowmobile. The moon was full, allowing him to see parts of the facility, and this place was _huge_. There were massive radar dishes mounted on top of the largest buildings, as well as on towers spaced around inside the perimeter, but what concerned him was the size of the facilities, which meant that there could be even more guards and staff than he imagined.

The end of the tire tracks was coming up, so he slowed down, and came to a stop well before coming into visual range of anyone who might spot him. Shutting off the engine, and getting up, the young man wished that he still had his scope, but he didn't, so naked eyes would have to do, meaning that he had to get closer. This particular building only had one surface level, probably since there were basements, but it also had guards. Two of them at the only door that he could see, and it stood to reason that there would be more guards at other doors as well.

"Boss, I've made it through the perimeter." He reported, ducking down behind a snowbank to avoid being spotted. "I'm outside the building that Tsarina says is used for detention, but now I just have to find a way in."

" _Let me guess, guards at the doors_?" Big Boss's voice asked. " _Lights pointing into every hiding place? Sure sounds like a prison to me… but you know what the funny thing about prison is, kid? Nobody ever watches the roof_."

Taking a moment to stand up and look at the roof, the young man saw that the Boss was right. There were guards at the doors, lights everywhere, and two more guards doing a roving patrol… but no one was on the roof. Even after the conversation was ended, and the roving patrol circled the building three times, no one went up there, even though there was a pretty obvious heater vent at the center. Avoiding the door guards was easy, since they didn't move, and the roving guards took about five minutes to circle the building, so all Mongoose had to do was climb the wall, go across the roof, and let himself in.


	14. Chapter 14 Infiltration

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Fourteen: Infiltration**

 _March 8_ _th_ _, 1975, 2015 hrs._

 _Detention Facility, DYE-2, Greenland_

Getting past the guards was the easy part; Empty Mongoose simply got to where the distance between guarded doors was the greatest, waited until right after the roaming guard passed by, and then used the shutters on the windows to boost himself up onto the roof. Later when retelling this story to Big Boss, maybe the young man would leave out the part where he almost fell off after one of the frozen shutters nearly broke under his weight, but after flailing around for a second he _did_ manage to pull himself up, and that was what mattered.

Remaining still for a few moments to make sure that the guards hadn't heard him, Mongoose listened for any alarmed shouting or quickened footsteps, but heard nothing. It seemed that the first stage of infiltrating the detention facility was a success, but now that he had gotten past the perimeter, he had to find a way inside. There was a steady stream of heated air coming out of a large duct at the center of the roof, and _good news_ , the vent cover wasn't locked, bolted, or anything, since after all… who would come all the way out there just to break open a vent cover?

"Boss, I've found an entry point." He reported, climbing into the duct and pulling the cover shut behind him. "It shouldn't be too hard to find our guys from here."

" _Don't get cocky, kid_." Big Boss's voice replied as he started down. " _The ease of searching a confined building works both ways, and remember that it's a hell of a lot harder to sneak up on someone in a room with good lighting and a hard floor_."

The Boss went on to explain the other dangers of infiltrating a large facility, starting with not knowing the layout, which gave him only two options. First, the young man could simply search around blindly, which would take a long time, and honestly the more time that was spent in an area, the more likely it was for the guards to become suspicious of anything he did or interacted with. The other option was to capture a guard that was alone, and interrogate him, which would have been fine if Mongoose had any Fulton equipment.

" _If you interrogate a guard, you'll have to kill him_." The Boss continued. " _Sedating him would work for a while, but you don't know how long you're going to be there, and when he wakes up, the first thing he'll do is raise the alarm. It's up to you which way you proceed, but remember that finding our men is the easy part… it's getting them out that's the problem_."

"I'll figure out something, Boss." The young man replied. "No matter what, if our people are still alive, I won't abandon them."

Now at the bottom of the first vent shaft, Mongoose found himself above the detention facility's ground floor. The SV Sneaking Suit did a good job of muffling his movements as he crawled through the duct, and now all he had to do was find a way down. There were several vent covers that he could have chosen from, each leading to offices, restrooms, and the like, but the trick was finding a room that was empty long enough for him to climb down. After all, he was still wearing the enemy disguise, but only an _idiot_ wouldn't get suspicious when they saw someone climbing out of a duct, even if they thought it was their own people.

Finally settling for one of the bathrooms, the young man waited until the only guard inside left after washing his hands, and then he made his move. Being careful not to make any noise, or drop anything, Mongoose quickly lowered himself down into a stall, reaching back up and closing the vent cover just before the bathroom door opened. Well, this was as good a time as any to see if the disguise still worked, and if not he could easily take down a single guard, so he flushed the toilet and walked out of the stall.

"Shit, you scared me." The guard said after jumping a little. "I didn't think anyone else was in here."

"Uh, yeah, been in here for a while." The young man lied. "Don't think my stomach will ever get used to the food… or the cold."

The guard chuckled a little, saying that he wasn't the only one who had been doing some serious _latrine duty_ after chow, and then immediately commenting on how he wished the United States would put up remote bases in places like _Maui_ once in a while, instead of picking the worst places possible just because they could get a cheaper price on the Land Lease. They both laughed at this, and then the guard introduced himself as Jim Houseman, or _Zulu 5_.

"George Sears." He replied, since his real name meant nothing to anyone outside his home country, and very little even there. "From, uh, Baker Team… Baker, uh, 7."

"Baker Team?" The guard asked, seeming confused for a second. "Oh right, the guys coming in for security relief. You're a little early, but I'll just hand this key off to you now to save time; it opens the elevator's route to B2, but don't worry, you won't have to interact with any prisoners, or even go down there. Those _Valkyrie_ girls handle all that, we're just the doormen."

"Just the doormen, huh?" Mongoose asked, taking possession of the key. "Good… makes the next shift pretty simple. Hey, since I'm here, I'll just take over a little early… you go get some coffee or something."

The guard had no problem with this, since it meant that he got to get off work a little early, so they shook hands before he left, and the young man couldn't believe what just happened. According to that guard, not only was this the elevator key to B2, where the missing MSF operatives were being held, but there would _also_ be no guards around, at the elevator _or_ in the detention area. Well, he certainly wasn't going to waste this opportunity, but there was still a time limit since he wasn't sure what time the _real_ relief guard was going to show up.

The disguise he was wearing made it incredibly easy to move around on this floor, with most of the guards he passed giving him a friendly greeting as they passed each other in the corridors, and pretending like he was doing a routine patrol made it even easier to take a look around. However, Big Boss had warned him that the longer he stayed hidden, the more likely it was to arouse suspicions, especially if he inadvertently did or said anything to distinguish himself from the other guards.

Thankfully the elevator wasn't that hard to find, once he got around to the complete other side of the building, and like the guard in the bathroom had said, no one was watching it. Taking a quick look to make sure no one was looking, Mongoose used the key to open the elevator, and once inside, he used the key again to make the button marked B2 light up. Worried that an alarm was going to sound at any second, but so far there was no alert sounded, nor did this happen when he pushed the button.

In fact, the only thing that moved or made noise was the elevator when it started moving down, and once it stopped, the doors opened to reveal… nothing. There were no guards, no blaring alarms, nothing… just a long, dark corridor that certainly looked like a basement, with its dim lighting, and pipes running along the ceiling. Using the key to lock the elevator from the inside so that no one could come down after him, the young man kept his hand on his pistol, ready to draw it at the slightest sign of trouble.

However, there was no trouble to be found, nor were there any rooms to be explored, since the whole of B2 appeared to be a single linear hallway that ended at an old looking, but really sturdy metal door. It had an old fashioned key lock, which presented no problem for Mongoose, since Big Boss had taught him everything there was to know about picking locks, and soon there was a loud _click_ as the mechanism popped open.

Being as quiet as he could, Mongoose turned the latch, and pushed open the door, finding nothing but a dark room on the other side. Aside from the squeaking door, there were no noises or signs of movement, but what he did find as he pressed against the wall to feel his way around the room, was a light switch. He was hesitant to use it, since there might be guards waiting for him to do so, but then again if there _were_ any guards in there they probably would have had NVG's, and simply shot him by now.

Listening again for any time of noise or movement, but hearing nothing, and since the elevator was locked so no one could come up behind him, the young man decided to take a chance with the light switch. It took a moment for the same dim, incandescent bulbs that illuminated the hallway to flicker to life, and he found himself inside of an open chamber that had no other doors or windows. The second thing he saw were the missing MSF operatives, all lying on the floor near the wall, but something was wrong… _very_ wrong.

They weren't moving or breathing, each one with an expression of terror and agony on their faces, but the worst… and strangest part was when he ran over to investigate… and saw that the tops of their heads were cut off. The whole cap of their skulls had been simply removed… by a skilled surgeon from the looks of it… and inside the open skulls… well, there was _nothing_ inside. That's when Mongoose spotted the third distinguishing feature of this room… it was a message, written on the wall in what looked like blood, and fairly recently, that said:

 _TOO LATE MY LITTLE SOLIDOUS_

Suddenly there was movement as something, a figure dropped down from the ceiling, which was the only place where he hadn't looked when checking the room. She must've been one of the Valkyries, since the only women that Mongoose had seen around this place were members, and in response to seeing her movement, the young man drew his pistol. At the same time, she went for her weapon, but it wasn't a gun. It was a long whip, and she was a little faster on the draw then he was, resulting in a loud _crack_ when it struck his hand.

The whip hit him just before he was about to pull the trigger, making Mongoose cry out as the pistol flew from his hand. So he went to throw the hidden knife from his wrist-sheath, and this time he was faster, but the Valkyrie woman turned her body to the side to avoid it, gasping when the blade grazed her cheek before imbedding itself in the wall.

"Looks like Domina was right to leave me here, after all." She said, wiping the blood from her cheek. "I told her you'd have to be the luckiest man on Earth, with a bag of tricks a mile deep to get past all of our security… yet here you are. Well, your winning streak is about to end, right here in this room. I am _Sultana_ of Valkyrie Special Forces… and I have a few tricks of my own."


	15. Chapter 15 Sultana

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Fifteen: Sultana**

There was another loud _crack_ as Sultana's whip flew through the air, but this time Mongoose was able to move out of the way before it hit him. His hand was still stinging from the first hit as he ducked down while moving toward her, but she moved back at the same pace, giving her enough time to lash out at him a third time. The sneaking suit that he wore under his enemy disguise protected him when the whip hit his shoulder, but not enough to stop it from hurting completely, so instead of advancing again, he decided to go for his fallen pistol.

Doing a forward roll across the floor toward it, the young man grabbed the weapon, and was turning to aim at Sultana, when her whip struck him. This time he tasted blood when the end of it wrapped around his face with a loud crack, causing his bullet to hit the far wall as he fell to the floor. As for the Valkyrie woman, she didn't let up; lashing at him again and again, knocking the pistol from his hand, and tearing his enemy disguise to shreds.

There was no way to keep avoiding the whip, so Mongoose came up with a new plan, which honestly started out by accident when he raised his arm up to protect his face, and the end of the whip wrapped around his wrist. Taking full advantage of the situation, he grabbed onto it so that Sultana couldn't pull it back, and the two of them struggled for control while he got to his feet. Apparently Sultana didn't have the same kind of _muscle suit_ that Domina was said to wear, but she was still pretty strong, especially for a woman.

This tug of war between them went on for several seconds as both tried to get complete control of the weapon, but then the young man suddenly rushed forward, causing Sultana to gasp when she stumbled back into the wall… and then have the wind knocked out of her when Mongoose rammed his knee into her stomach. She coughed and bent forward as Mongoose tossed the whip away, immediately reaching for the knife in her boot. However, he had pulled his own knife out of the wall at the same time, making her stop moving when she felt the blade touch her throat.

"Drop it, Sultana." Mongoose ordered, causing her to do just that. "Now, unless you want to join Kumari and Queen, I suggest that you tell me what the hell happened to my people over there."

"I don't know." She replied tensely. "They were brought here along with others from all over the world, but Kumari already told you that. You'll have to ask Domina about anything further… isn't that right, _Domina_?"

"I'm afraid so, _my little Solidus_." The Valkyrie leader's voice answered. "Confused? Then allow me to shed some light on the situation."

Suddenly there was a crackling electrical disturbance on the far side of the room, and then Domina materialized just like all the Valkyries had done back in Madagascar. Mongoose's mouth ran dry as he and Domina just stood there staring at each other, but then he pulled Sultana up in front of him like a shield; his knife staying on her throat as if she were a hostage. However, the threat of losing another of her people didn't stop Domina from smirking at him as she picked up his pistol.

"It's funny." She continued casually. "I was all set to go deal with a situation at the front gate, when I thought to myself _'he's probably listening in on our communications'_. I mean, what _better_ time to try and free a bunch of prisoners than when you know _exactly_ where the enemy is going to be, am I right? But as you can see, your friends no longer _need_ rescuing."

"What did you do to them?!" Mongoose demanded, pressing the blade harder into Sultana's throat. "Tell me why their heads are like that, or I swear to every God you've ever _heard of_ that I'll paint the walls with Sultana's blood!"

The young man expected the Valkyrie leader to show some concern, or to at least hesitate when the life of one of her own people was on the line, but instead Domina started laughing at him. It was like she either thought he was bluffing, which both Kumari and Queen could attest that he _wasn't_ , or she just didn't care about Sultana. After all, this _was_ the same woman who had ordered Kumari to face him alone, but on the other hand he couldn't just kill his hostage… since she was the only thing between him and Domina.

"I understand your frustrations, Solidus." The Valkyrie leader said with a smile. "You came all the way up here to save your friends, only to fail miserably, but you can have _this_ as a consolation prize."

The young man was about to ask her what she was talking about, when he gasped as she used her free hand to toss something toward him. There was no mistaking what this small object was; it was a flashbang, and to make matters worse the handle flew off as soon as it left her hand, meaning that the pins had already been pulled. There was no time to move or react, and then Mongoose's ears started ringing while his vision went white.

For what felt like the longest time he couldn't see or hear anything besides that blinding whiteness and painful ringing, but once both started to fade, he realized that he was now lying on the floor. It was hard to move, since he was so dizzy and disoriented, but Mongoose could tell that the knife was no longer in his hand, and as his vision refocused he could see that Sultana was also lying on the floor near him, and in about the same condition.

Struggling to get up, the young man had just about made it to his hands and knees, when he felt someone with a really strong grip grab onto his hair. Even though his vision was still blurry, he could tell that it was Domina, so he took a rather clumsy swing at her, which she effortlessly avoided before bringing up her leg and booting Mongoose in the chest. There was more than enough force behind it to send him back down to the floor, but the good news was that his vision and hearing were almost completely back now.

"Sultana?" Domina asked, kneeling down and lightly smacking the woman's cheek. "Sultana, can you hear me?"

Sultana made a kind of moaning sound as she tried, and failed, to roll over, and her worsened condition made sense, being that the Valkyrie woman had been standing in front of him when the flashbang went off. Then something else in the room moved, and the young man struggled to turn his head as Tsarina and the other Valkyrie woman that had been called _Empress_ walked in from the elevator hallway.

"Take Sultana to the infirmary." Domina ordered, standing up. "And then tell Saunders that I'll need to see her at B1 shortly."

"Yes, Domina." Empress replied as she and Tsarina moved over to their fallen comrade.

Tsarina gave Mongoose a quick, worried look as she helped Empress pick Sultana up off the floor, but given the situation, this was really all that she _could_ do without placing herself at unnecessary risk. The two of them quickly carried the wounded Valkyrie out of the room, leaving Mongoose once again alone with Domina, and from experience he knew that something _very_ bad was about to happen if he didn't get on his feet.

"I'm surprised you can move at all, let alone _stand_." Domina commented as he pulled himself up. "Of course, you're a hard one to figure out, Solidus. For one thing, I was _so_ certain that Big Boss was here, since a mission as suicidal as _yours_ could never be _anything_ but a distraction… but he's not, is he? Not only did you come here alone, but you would have succeeded… well, if _I_ hadn't been here, that is."

"What did you do to my friends?!" Mongoose demanded again, now leaning heavily against the wall. "Why are their skulls empty, you sadistic bitch?!"

His adrenaline giving him a sudden boost of energy as well as clarity, the young man lunged at Domina, throwing out a wild punch. The Valkyrie leader easily avoided this by stepping sideways, and then she backhanded him, making the young man stumble sideways before falling down. Scrambling to his feet, he rushed right back toward Domina to continue the attack, coming in low in order to knock her arms out of the way.

So far it worked, hitting her arms so that the Valkyrie leader wouldn't be able to stop him from grabbing her, and once he did, Mongoose twisted his body so that he would be able to flip her over and slam her on the ground. As planned, Domina was flipped around in the air, but instead of slamming down on her back and head, she was somehow able to bring her legs down so that she landed gracefully on her feet. The Valkyrie leader than grabbed him in the same way, before flipping the young man over, and knocking the wind out of him when _his_ back hit the floor.

"Your friends are part of a grand experiment." She explained as he struggled to get up. "They, like all the others we acquired, were brought here to participate in a project that will revolutionize the whole way that wars are fought, at least if it's successful. But if it's not… oh well, no one will _really_ miss a bunch of two-bit mercenaries."

Once up to his hands and knees, Mongoose charged forward, planting his shoulder into Domina's stomach while hooking one of her legs with his arm in order to throw her off balance. He succeeded at first, forcing her to stumble backwards a few steps, but then she regained her footing, and not only became like trying to push a brick wall, but also shoved him backwards. The young man's feet left the floor for a second as he landed on his back. Now not moving nearly as fast as before, he made another attempt to attack her, which resulted in himself being spun around while Domina's arm looped around his neck.

"You _worry_ too much, Solidus." The Valkyrie leader chuckled as he tried to break free. "When Saunders gets here, she'll tell you all you could _ever_ want to know about her project… but for now, go to sleep."

She then tightened the grip on his neck, cutting off his circulation, and as much as Mongoose struggled, it was only a matter of time before he passed out.


	16. Chapter 16 Project Nightlight

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Sixteen: Project Nightlight**

 _March 9_ _th_ _, 1975, 1047 hrs._

 _Detention Facility B1, DYE-2, Greenland_

After being literally choked out by Domina, Empty Mongoose awoke to find himself inside of what could only be described as a sterile prison cell. The walls, floor, and ceiling looked like they were almost made out of a single piece of titanium, with the only break in the pattern being the door. It was made of the same material, with a slot at the top that looked like it could be opened from the outside, most likely for viewing purposes.

There was no way to investigate the door, or anything else for that matter, being that he was hanging from his wrists that were shackled through two small holes in the ceiling. There was a set of shackles around his ankles as well, coming through a set of identical holes in the floor, so he was both kept suspended, while also preventing him from trying to access the shackles' anchoring points by climbing to the ceiling or descending to the floor.

How long the young man had been left like this, he couldn't be sure, since there were no windows in the cell, nor where there any other available methods of keeping track of time. The option of trying to manually keep track of the hours and minutes by counting in his head would have been an option, but seeing that he had no way of knowing how long he had been in the cell before waking up, it was a waste of time to try.

His disguise, radio, and all other items except for the pants of his sneaking suit had been taken from him, so for the moment there was no way to either free himself, or call for help… not that anyone from Mother Base would have been able to help. There was also the comms blackout that Big Boss had told him about, meaning that there was no way to contact anyone at MSF even if he still _had_ his radio.

So for what felt like the longest time, Mongoose just hung there, eventually falling asleep, until being woken again by the hard _click_ of the cell's heavy door starting to open. Apparently there were no windows in the corridor outside either, since the only light that came in was artificial, but then the matter of what time it was became forgotten when Domina walked into the cell. She was followed in by Sultana, Empress, and Tsarina, who took positions around the room while their leader walked up to the prisoner… and then a stranger came in a couple seconds later.

"So, _this_ is the trouble maker?" The stranger asked, adjusting her glasses to take a closer look at him. "Hmm… you know, he kind of _does_ look like _Big Boss_ in a certain light."

"Yes, Saunders, this is him." The Valkyrie leader explained. "He snuck in here undetected, killed two of my best people, and defeated two others. He's both evaded _and_ escaped capture, is athletically adept, and seems remarkably intelligent… for a man. Do you think he'll do for your project?"

Instead of responding, the short, shrewd looking redhead adjusted her glasses again, before taking a couple of long drawn out walks around the young man, clearly studying him. She then took the knife off of Domina's belt, and used it to make a tiny cut on Mongoose's stomach, making him wince while she collected some of the red liquid into a small sample container that had been produced from her pocket.

"Maybe." Saunders said, closing and sealing the container. "Every piece of the _Nightlight Project_ requires the very best, but this part must be held to an even higher standard, or the whole thing was for nothing."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Mongoose asked. "What is the Nightlight Project? Is that something to do with why my friends' brains are missing, huh? Tell me, or I swear that…

His words were suddenly interrupted when Sultana walked up and backhanded him across the mouth hard enough for the sound to echo through the room. She did this a couple more times until blood was starting to drip from the corner of his mouth, but was stopped from hitting him again as the other one, the one that had been called Empress, motioned for Sultana to move out of the way.

"You better just stay quiet, _little man_." She warned quietly, putting her face so close to his that their noses almost touched. "You might have beaten the weakest of us, but Domina put you in those chains, and I'm _almost_ as strong as she is, you unless you want to…

Now it was Empress' turn to get interrupted; her words becoming a startled gasp when Mongoose spit a large glob of his own blood into her eyes. And she had barely closed them and started to react, when the young man tilted his neck back as far as he could, before ramming his forehead into her face. Stumbling backwards out of reflex, Empress tripped over her own feet, finding herself landing hard onto her back.

"The others were the weakest, huh?" Mongoose asked, spitting out more blood. "Well, I needed at least my _arms_ to beat all of them, so you might want to recheck the pecking order on that one, _Princess_."

Enraged at this insult, Empress wiped the blood from her face, before jumping to her feet. The woman then pulled her own knife from out behind her back, and moved forward to stab him, but was stopped when Domina grabbed her by the wrist. For a moment she attempted to pull away, but then the Valkyrie leader glared at her, and Empress backed off. Taking a moment to shoot an angry glare at Mongoose, he reacted by winking at her, a gesture which enraged the woman to the point where she angrily stormed out of the room.

"Maybe you were right about this one, Domina." Saunders continued, taking another look at him. "Perhaps he will make a suitable substitute for his Boss after all… depending on the results of my blood analysis."

"Substitute for what?" Mongoose asked, looking around the room at each of them. "What the hell is going on around here?"

This time instead of being hit, or scolded, the young man was surprised when Saunders began to explain things to him; beginning with the fact that she was actually a high ranking CIA operative… which he had already suspected. She and her unit had been sent to this facility, which was not actually DYE-2 but was still called that anyway, a number of years ago by a man known as _Hot Coldman_. Mongoose already knew of this man, since he had been involved in the _Peacewalker Incident_ the year before.

Saunders' mission was simple: While Coldman's team was in Central America working on the AI program to complete Peacewalker, she was to find a way to bypass the need for a computerized guidance system completely. At first, they tried with a remote link that would operate a system much like the remote control of a RC Racer, but this was deemed unpractical. No matter how skilled a person was, or how much knowledge they had, no singular mind would be powerful enough to operate it.

Then she got an idea. Instead of having a single mind pilot a system by remote, what if she had dozens of minds operating it directly? The science of keeping body parts alive without the body as a whole already existed, and the same technology that allowed multiple computers to be linked together, after about a hundred failures, could be adapted to link the neurons of human minds together _as if_ they were just another computer.

"Wait a second." Mongoose said, understandably confused. "Are you saying that you ripped out my friends' brains in order to… in order to link their minds into a computer?"

"Not just your friends." Saunders replied. "Since the minds of men are limited to loyalties to their own countries, and biased to their own beliefs, I required Domina and her Valkyries to bring me samples from Soldiers from all over the world. American, Russian, Iranian, Columbian, all working together in perfect harmony… and the system _works_ , boy."

Saunders went on to explain that the Peacewalker prototype had been mostly salvaged from Lake Nicaragua, with the word _'mostly'_ used because all of its computer boards and control pods were missing. However, with the minds of the finest Soldiers on the planet working together as one, along with a much larger version of the Valkyries' stealth system, her aim was to create a nuclear equipped weapon that was not only completely autonomous, but that could also be rendered invisible immediately after launching.

"Imagine it, boy." Saunders said with more excitement in her voice. "A weapon is launched, but then the platform becomes invisible and relocates to another country, only to fire again. This will assure not only repeated first-strike capability, but it will also allow the United States to turn the members of the Communist Bloc against each other by always launching from right next to their missile silos."

"Are you serious?" Mongoose asked. "I mean, can you even _hear_ the complete lunacy of what you are saying? You kidnapped Soldiers from all over the world so that you could shove their brains into some kind of computer bank, and now you want to reignite the Cold War like it was in the 60's? What the hell is wrong with you, lady?"

" _Nothing_ is the matter, _Solidus_." Domina answered, stepping forward and putting her hand on his shoulder. "Now that we have _you_ , anyway. I'll admit, I was distressed to learn that Big Boss didn't come with you to Greenland, but if my suspicions are correct… and if this new, um… blood scanning thing that Saunders can do works out… it looks like we'll have the final piece of the puzzle after all. But for now get some rest."

Mongoose was about to ask her what she meant by the last piece, but was interrupted when Domina brought up her leg and kicked him in the chest hard enough to shatter the anchoring chains of his shackles as he was thrown backwards. The young man then slammed into the far wall, hitting his head, and losing consciousness again before he was even able to hit the floor.


	17. Chapter 17 Honey Trap

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Seventeen: Honey Trap**

 _March 9_ _th_ _, 1975, 1822 hrs._

 _Detention Facility B1, DYE-2, Greenland_

There was no real way to measure time while inside the holding cell, since there were no windows, and it was doubtful that the guards would tell him what time it was, so Empty Mongoose was just forced to wait. It was funny how people's perceptions of time could be changed under certain circumstances; as a child soldier the young man had once seen a prisoner thrown into a completely dark and silent room, and although the man had only been in there for two days before being released, the prisoner swore that it felt like he had been in there for at least a week.

This was kind of the way that Empty Mongoose felt now, since he had been left lying on the cold floor, with his wrists shackled behind his back and his ankles bound together. This time, though, Domina had gone the extra mile by having her people attach his shackles to tethers that were bolted right into the floor, giving him only a few inches that he could move in either direction. So with no radio, equipment, or any feasible means of escape, there wasn't really much that he could do.

"Oh, a thousand bottles of beer on the wall." He sang quietly to himself while pulling uselessly at the floor-bolts. "A thousand bottles of beer… you take them down, pass them around, nine hundred ninety nine bottles of beer on the wall."

More time passed as the young man tried every trick he knew to get free, but nothing was working. Apparently Domina had finally had enough of his antics, and was making sure that Mongoose didn't move until… until what? Until it was time for Saunders to come in and rip out his brain? Thankfully no one had come to do that to him just yet, but he had to find a way out of there.

"One bottle of beer on the wall." He continued singing with far less enthusiasm. "One bottle of beer… you take it down, pass it around… and then I guess everyone… leaves?"

He had never actually gotten to the end of that song before, so Mongoose didn't know how it really ended, but these thoughts were interrupted when the holding cell door suddenly clicked open, making his heart skip a beat. This was it, he thought… Domina was coming in to hold him down while Saunders took his brain for the Nightlight Project. But it wasn't Domina at all… nor was it Saunders… the one who came through the door was actually Sultana, and she was bringing in what looked like food.

"Dinner time." She said almost sadly as she closed the door behind her. "Domina says that we have to keep you healthy until Saunders is ready for you."

It was strange, the last time he had seen this member of the Valkyries, she had been brash and fiery, ready to destroy the young man at a moment's notice. But now she looked anxious, and almost scared… which Mongoose understood as she knelt down next to him, allowing him to see the freshly made scar along the side of her face that Sultana was trying to hide with her hair. Apparently Tsarina wasn't the only one in the group who was punished for failure… but maybe he could use that.

"I'm surprised to see Domina's _top Lieutenant_ bringing me my dinner." The young man said softly, forcing the compliment. "I figured the guards would have to do that… not that I _mind_ that chance to look at you again."

"I'm not her top Lieutenant." Sultana replied, smiling slightly as she set the tray on the floor. "And feeding you is part of my punishment… Domina doesn't look kindly on failure, especially when it happens right in front of her… I still don't know how you beat me."

As hard as it was to keep from telling her the truth, which was that she lost because he was a better fighter and that even Tsarina had given him a bigger challenge, Mongoose held his tongue. What he had here was an opportunity, but it was a delicate one, and if he made the slightest mistake, then Saunders was probably going to get the final brain that she needed for Nightlight.

"You don't have to spare my feelings, Sultana." He continued, fighting the urge to head-butt her. "You and I both know that the only reason I won is because you were distracted by Domina being there, and… and the truth is that I could _never_ beat you in a fair fight, and no, that's _not_ just because you're so beautiful."

"Look, I have to let you use one arm to eat." Sultana replied, turning away slightly to hide the fact that she was starting to blush. "But Domina told me to break it if you try anything, so just… behave, okay?"

The young man nodded, making sure not to break eye-contact with her, which only made the Valkyrie blush a bit more each time her eyes met his. This girl probably hadn't been paid a genuine compliment for a long time, and yes, it was cruel of Mongoose to take advantage of her vulnerable state, but it was better to be cruel than to have his brain sucked out, or however Saunders managed that.

Sultana moved the tray a bit closer to him before reaching around to unlock the tether on one of his arms, and then she watched him closely as he moved it around for a bit before reaching toward the tray. However, instead of stopping at the food, his hand kept going until it was rested on top of hers. Hoping that the Valkyrie wouldn't immediately try to break his arm for this, the young man moved his hand once again, traveling it slowly up her arm, and across her shoulder to where he pushed her hair back while lightly caressing her cheek.

"What happened?" He asked with concern in his voice, pretending to only now notice the scar on her face. "Did _Domina_ do that? Did she hurt you… because of _me_? Ooh, if I get out of here, I'm going to break every bone in that bitch's body."

"Don't be ridiculous, you can't beat Domina." Sultana replied, looking away, but not moving her face away from his hand. "I've seen her crush you more than once, and this… this is the penalty for not meeting her standards. Tsarina got the same thing after you captured her in Madagascar, but… at least she didn't take one to the face."

So far the young man's plan was working perfectly, but whereas giving compliments to a girl and sweet-talking her was easy, the hard part came with each risky move that he had to make in order to further win her over. There was no other way, so once again hoping that Sultana wouldn't immediately break his arm, he moved his hand around to the back of her neck, and then very slowly pulled her head closer to his. Making sure to again apologize for her having been punished because of him, Mongoose waited until she was really close, and then softly kissed the scar on her cheek, making her gasp a little.

The Valkyrie started to pull away, but in response the young man tightened his grip on the back of her neck, not enough to hurt her or anything, but enough to turn her head so that she was looking into his eyes before he pulled her closer again. This was the most risky part of his plan yet, so Mongoose appeared to be just as nervous as Sultana was when their lips touched. After a brief hesitation, this light touch turned into a real kiss, but then the Valkyrie suddenly pulled away.

"No, I can't do this!" She quickly exclaimed. "Domina will kill me if she finds out that I…

"Domina is _nothing_!" Mongoose replied angrily, grabbing her wrist before she could get too far away. "The only reason that she can beat me or you is because of that damn muscle suit she wears under her uniform. She doesn't _deserve_ to give orders to a perfect woman like you, and I know I can beat her if I can just get out of this cell! Help me, Sultana… and when it's all done… I'll come back for you."

Well, she didn't break his arm, or even pull away, which would have been really easy for Sultana to do since the young man was still mostly bolted down to the floor. Instead, Sultana just stayed where she was, as if she honestly didn't know what to do, but then a few seconds later she reached down and took something off her belt. It was the small key that she had used to unlock his arm, and now she was using it on his tethers.

"The guards will come in to collect your tray in five minutes." She explained, unlocking the last of his shackles. "You're going to have to kill them so they can't report that you were already free when they came in, and your things are in the storage room at the end of the corridor on this level… and there's one more thing."

Mongoose couldn't believe how well his plan was working, especially when the Valkyrie told him about the existence of _another_ muscle suit. She didn't know where it was stored, so he was on his own there, but it was too big for any of the Valkyries to use. Apparently it was some kind of prototype that the US Army had stored there, but it was probably somewhere inside the main facility… as was Nightlight.

"That's all I can do for you." Sultana continued. "I can't give you one of our stealth units, because Domina will know that I helped you, but please… find that muscle suit and kill Domina. Everything else can be figured out later."

She then gave him another kiss before standing up and walking out the door, leaving Mongoose finally able to stand up for the first time in what felt like hours. It was good that she gave him five minutes, since he needed it in order to get the feeling back into his legs, and then right on schedule the guards opened the door. The first idiot led with his rifle as he walked in, which would have been fine if the young man hadn't been right up against the wall waiting for him.

Grabbing the rifle and spinning it upward so that the stock hit the guard in the jaw, he shoved the first guard down to the floor as he stepped out into the hallway, turning the rifle around and hitting the second guard across the face with it as if the weapon was a baseball bat, so that no one would be alerted by gunshots. There was a loud _crack_ as the second guard collapsed to the floor, and Mongoose turned around, swinging the rifle again so that the first guard was knocked unconscious as well, just as he was trying to turn on his radio.

Okay, he was free, but the young man still had to get his gear back, and also deal with the two guards who were still alive. So he searched them, taking their weapons and ammo, but stopping when he discovered that one of them was carrying an incendiary grenade. This provided him with the perfect means to deal with the guards, so he dragged them into the cell, pulled the pin on the grenade, and rolled it across the floor toward them as he went back into the corridor. Shutting the heavy cell door, and remembering that the cell itself was both hardened and soundproof, there was no danger of anyone being alerted by the slight rumble caused by the grenade going off.

Well, the good news for the trapped guards was that they would suffocate long before they burned to death, so with his escape so far going unnoticed, Mongoose started down the corridor to where he would be able to recover his gear. It was time to continue the mission.


	18. Chapter 18 The Mission Continues

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Eighteen: The Mission Continues**

 _March 9_ _th_ _, 1975, 2230 hrs._

 _Detention Facility B1, DYE-2, Greenland_

Not wanting to spend any more time in the detention area than necessary, Empty Mongoose hurried down to the small room at the end of the corridor, opening the door to discover that all of his equipment was stored there, just as Sultana said it was. So he put the rest of his SV Sneaking Suit on, feeling almost instant relief from how cold the inside of this building was kept, and then the young man carefully checked over his silenced pistol in order to make sure that no parts of it had been tampered with.

Everything seemed to be in order, probably because Domina assumed that Sultana could be trusted to follow her orders, unlike those idiots back at the guard post. Thankfully, the Valkyrie leader was in no short supply of people to disappoint her, and Mongoose had every intention of exploiting this opportunity. Sheathing his knife, and reattaching his radio and receiver, the last thing he did was sling one of the guards' rifles over his back. It never hurt to have an extra weapon, especially since the two guards had generously given him so much ammo to go along with it.

Once he was done securing the equipment and weapons, the young man crept back to the door, and listened for any hint of movement. Honestly, he had forgotten to get a new enemy disguise before killing the guards, so this time he would have to make his way back out of the facility without being seen. Mongoose was tempted to check in with Tsarina to see if there was any way that she could help him, but the last thing he needed was for some guards to come around the corner while he was talking.

Well, he couldn't hear anyone moving around out in the corridor, so the young man peeked out in the hallway before exiting the small storage room. Apparently those two guards had been the only ones working in B1, which made it really easy for him to get to the elevator at the other end of the corridor. On top of wanting to call Tsarina, Mongoose also wanted to check in with Mother Base, but then he remembered that they would be on a communications blackout until the following day.

This made the young man wonder about how Big Boss was doing on his mission. By now he should have been at least inside the compound where Chico was supposedly being held, and it was killing him to not know whether or not that traitor, Paz, was really dead. Oh well, the Boss could tell him all about it tomorrow; for now Mongoose had to get himself out of the detention facility before Domina discovered that he had escaped.

Standing around the corner of the wall after hitting the button to summon the elevator, the young man was relived to discover that no one was inside when the doors opened, so he walked in, and used the maintenance hatch to climb up on top of the elevator car. It was doubtful that anyone would be using the elevator again, at least until whenever the next shift change was, so he climbed up the maintenance ladder to the ground floor, and pulled the grating off of the maintenance access point to the heater vents.

Now, if he had a map of the building, Mongoose would have simply used the ducts to get right to the elevator, instead of doing all that running around dressed like a member of Baker Team. Of course, now he was _glad_ that he was no longer wearing the enemy's thick winter survival gear, since the air was amazingly hot inside the duct, and also because finding the way back to roof access, where he had originally come in, took a lot longer than he was willing to admit.

It was still snowing, and the wind had actually picked up a bit since Mongoose had gone inside, but no matter how miserable the weather was, it was better than just sitting there waiting for Saunders to come suck out his brain. This thought gave him a brief flashback of seeing the empty skulls of his comrades down in B2, and this memory was hard to shake… harder than any other memory, to tell the truth. Seriously, what kind of sicko could do that to people? He wondered as he crouched down to avoid being seen by the sentries… maybe once he dealt with Domina, he could get the answer from Saunders.

"Tsarina, are you there?" He asked, turning on his radio. "Tsarina, can you hear me?"

" _Mongoose?!_ " The girl's voice replied a few seconds later. " _How did you get a hold of a radio? How did… oh, my God, did you escape?! How did you get past Sultana?_ "

Avoiding that topic completely by telling Tsarina that _'she wouldn't believe him even if he told her'_ , Mongoose got right to business. First he asked her where the Nightlight project was stored, to which the girl could only reply that it was in one of the sub-levels of the main facility. Beyond that she had no idea, since only Domina and Saunders were allowed to go down there. This wasn't unexpected, since the young man figured that he would have to check the building room by room anyway, but before he could even think of going after Domina or this Nightlight thing, there was something else that he needed.

"Tsarina, have you ever seen another muscle suit around the base?" Mongoose asked. "Maybe one a lot bigger than the one that Domina wears… like, made for a man to wear, and probably left over from the American Army's tests."

" _A second muscle suit?_ " Tsarina replied, taking a moment to think. " _No, I don't think so… but if there was one, then it might be in the old vault_."

The girl went on to explain that there was a high-security bomb shelter on the first basement level, which had been converted into a storage room for Domina's personal equipment. The vault itself was really easy to find, but opening it required either three separate combinations and a second person to pull the manual release… or Domina's master key. The good news was that the Valkyrie leader didn't wear it around her neck or anything, but the bad news was that it was kept in her quarters on level 3F.

" _The main facility is heavily guarded_." Tsarina continued. " _There are dozens of guards, security cameras, electronic locks… everything needed to stop a member of your organization from getting inside. Thing is, Domina expected it to be Big Boss coming after your friends, so everyone inside that building is at the highest level of readiness at all times_."

"Then I've got the advantage after all." Mongoose said after thinking for a moment. "With all that security, only an _idiot_ would try to break in, right? That means the guards won't _actually_ be expecting any intruders, so I'll be all right as long as I can avoid the cameras, and get past the locks."

Tsarina did not share his optimism about the situation, instead offering him an alternative. He had discovered what happened to the missing MSF operatives, and that technically meant that his mission was complete. This small window before Domina discovered his escape was probably the only opportunity that the young man would have to escape undetected, and although it was tempting to simply go home, to Mongoose the mission was not over.

What Domina and Saunders had done to the missing members of MSF and all the others was just… inexcusable. They had kidnapped… who even _knew_ how many soldiers from all over the world, and ripped out their brains in order to shove them into some kind of a computer… however _that_ worked. But if their brains were to work together inside a computer system, then did that… did that mean that the soldiers'' brains were still alive?

" _I really wish you'd just go, Mongoose_." The girl said reluctantly. " _But if you insist on trying to get into the main facility, then maybe I can help you a little bit. All of the vents and windows are locked down, so the only way in is through the front door… yes, I know how that sounds._ "

It sounded crazy, but then started to make sense as Tsarina explained how once every hour, the guard had to do a test of the emergency alert system. Part of the facility had been remodeled recently, and the emergency alert system hadn't been moved into the new security office yet, meaning that the front door guard would have to leave his post and walk down to hall to use it. The cameras that could be seen from the new security office on 2F could be avoided easily enough, but then he would be on his own.

There really wasn't much more to say about the matter, and Tsarina had to make her regular check-in soon, so Mongoose turned off the radio. Staying crouched down, he moved over to the edge of the roof, and watch for the roving guard to make his hourly perimeter check. Once the slow-moving, seemingly absent minded guard shuffled his way past, the young man dropped down into the snow, and made his way toward the main facility.

Once he was away from the bright lights of the detention area, it took the young man's eyes a minute to readjust to the lower levels of light provided by the full moon reflecting off of the falling snow. He really missed having his Int-Scope, but the moonlight was enough, even through the snow-filled wind, and the main facility was easy to see, being that it was the biggest building on the base.

Since he was wearing dark colors, it was easy for Mongoose to avoid the random snowmobile patrollers by diving down into the large snowdrifts, but it still took a while to walk to the main facility since it was a lot farther away than it looked. There were also no exterior lights on at the main facility as he approached, making it really hard to tell one feature of the building from another, but thankfully the vehicle tracks leading in that direction allowed him to figure out where the front door was. Now all he had to do was wait for Tsarina to let him know when the guard had left his post.


	19. Chapter 19 Security Issues

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Nineteen: Security Issues**

 _March 9_ _th_ _, 1975, 2305 hrs._

 _Main Facility 1F, DYE-2, Greenland_

Standing over to the side of the main facility's front door, Empty Mongoose kept a constant lookout for any vehicles that might approach the building while he waited for Tsarina's signal that the guard had moved. This process took a lot longer than he had imagined, but at least the blowing snow gave him plenty of cover… and he had time to think about how he was going to explain what happened to the missing operatives to Big Boss.

This whole _Nightlight_ project sounded completely crazy; ripping out a bunch of soldiers' brains and shoving them into the salvaged Peace Walker instead of creating a new Artificial Intelligence. The young man would have never believed such an insane story if he hadn't heard it right from Domina and Saunders, but what was the Boss going to think… or more importantly, how was he going to _react_?

In spite of what they told the world, and whatever bullshit story they gave the IAEA during the inspection that was actually supposed to be happening… right then… the MSF was nuclear capable. True, it worried everyone on Mother Base that there was a possibility of Big Boss someday using the weapon that they had mounted onto Metal Gear ZEKE, and Mongoose couldn't be sure, but something like this… this might just cause it to happen. It would be nice to see this whole facility incinerated in revenge for what Domina had done, but… no sane person actually _liked_ the idea of a nuclear strike.

Suddenly the signal from Tsarina came, informing him that the guard had left his post for the moment, interrupting his thoughts, and forcing him to move since there was no way of knowing when the next window of opportunity would come. Part of him was worried that Tsarina would betray him and alarms would start going off as soon as he opened the door, but this didn't happen when the young man passed through, so he took cover behind the tallest part of the reception desk, and took a quick look around.

This building was designed just like the ground floor of the detention facility, only with a different layout and floor plan. The detention facility had basically been a single hallway that wrapped around and touch each room, but this place had _three_ hallways to choose from, each leading off in a different direction. Obviously Mongoose needed to find the stairs that would take him to the upper levels, but without some kind of reference, _and_ without his enemy uniform, this might take a while.

"Tsarina, I need a little direction, here." He said quietly, turning on his radio. "I'm at the reception desk; how do I get to the stairs?"

" _The hallway behind the desk_." The girl's voice answered. " _Follow it all the way down, and the last door leads into the main stairwell. It will take you up to the third floor, but I don't know how you're gonna get past the security around Domina's quarters… you should move, the guard is about to come back_."

This was as good of advice as any, so he started around the desk toward the rear hallway, but apparently instead of being _about_ to come back, the guard was already _halfway there_. The armed soldier was coming down the east hallway, back toward the desk, but this was fine since Mongoose could just duck down the west hallway. However, he had just turned around, when he had to stop again since there was _another_ guard coming toward the desk from that hallway as well.

His movements turned into a quick spin of desperation as the young man searched for a way out, but there was none. Both hallways were blocked, and he couldn't get into the rear hallway without crossing both of their lines of sight, so he did the only thing he could think of, which was to duck around the back of the desk, and hide underneath it. Somehow he managed to accomplish this without alerting either guard to his presence, but now he was trapped under the desk, since instead of continuing on their patrol routes, they two of them decided to have a little chat… standing right in front of where the young man was hidden.

"God damn, it's cold here." The first one said before sneezing. "I think I caught a cold… maybe I should've stayed in Russia."

"You've _always_ got a cold, Sasaki." The other guard replied with an annoyed tone. "It's because you bitch so much; makes your immune system go bad or something."

It was hard to stay still while the guards carried on their conversation, since because of his size, Mongoose needed to press all the way up against the desk wall, and stay on his tiptoes in order to stay out of sight as their conversation went on… and on… and on. For what felt like several minutes, the two of them just gabbed like a couple of old women, and the young man's most prominent thought was that if he knew the guards in this building were like that, he would have tried to find another entry point. _Apparently_ , he had the time to.

 _Finally_ , the two guards stopped yakking long enough to resume their patrol routes, but unfortunately only one of them, the one who hadn't been sneezing, walked away. This left the other one, the one called Sasaki, still standing there, and Mongoose was rapidly losing his patience. It got to the point where the young man was willing to risk killing the guard in order to move on, and he was just reaching for his pistol, when he heard a strange rumbling sound that seemed to be… coming from the guard?

"Oh no." Sasaki groaned, bending his knees a little while holding his stomach. "No, damn it… come on… not now."

The poor guy's legs were shaking, and he was trying to pace a little to keep his mind off of the pain, probably since his shift wasn't over, and he didn't want to abandon his post. However, after a little more groaning, and him letting out a fart that sounded _a lot_ wetter than it should have, Sasaki lost his battle with nature, causing the guard to clumsily run from the desk. His footsteps got quieter as he darted down the hall toward wherever the restrooms were, allowing Mongoose to finally come out from under the desk.

By this time the young man's joints were understandably sore, but the pain was welcome after having to smell what that guard was brewing, and by the time that Mongoose was halfway down the rear hallway, most of the soreness was gone. Just like Tsarina said, after passing a few rooms, the hallway ended at a door marked Stairwell, and when he took a peek inside, the young man was relieved to see that there were no guards. There were a couple security cameras, mostly at the corners, but they were easy to avoid just by hugging the wall and watching for when they turned away.

Once Mongoose was at the door marked 2F, he considered the advice Tsarina had given him about dealing with the security office before heading up to Domina's quarters on the third floor, but he wasn't sure if it was worth it. There were going to be cameras and guards around no matter which way he chose, and although getting rid of the men inside of the security station might provide him with a window of ease, things could go bad very quickly if someone discovered that the station was abandoned.

" _Um… Mongoose_?" A new voice asked over the radio as he continued up the stairs. " _Mongoose, are you there? It's Sultana_."

"Sultana?" He replied with genuine surprise while avoiding the next camera. "Hey… I was, uh… worried about you. Domina didn't find out that you helped me escape, did she?"

The Valkyrie member assured him that Domina hadn't even found out about his escape yet, which was a good thing, but the young man honestly couldn't stand this woman's voice, or the fact that he had to be so sweet with her in order to escape that cell. In fact, the only thing worse than basically having to seduce Sultana, was having to keep up the act in order for the alarm to not be raised.

"I know we shouldn't communicate like this." She continued as he reached the 3F door. "But you're headed for the main facility, right? You might want to hold off on that for a while, because Empress just walked in through the front door."

Great, Mongoose thought as he heard that news, that's just _great_. The young man was fairly certain that he could beat the Valkyrie member one on one if it came down to it, but at the same time he would be in a lot of trouble if Empress managed to raise the alarm, and Domina found him again before he got a hold of that second muscle suit. So maybe there was something that Sultana could do to distract Empress… but then another idea entered his mind. There was no need to worry about an alarm… if Empress never saw him coming.

"Thank you _so_ much for warning me, Sultana." Mongoose replied. "I really owe you for this; you caught me just in time, I was about to go into the main facility, but if Empress is in there, I'll pass. I'll contact you later."

Turning off the radio before she could reply again, the young man did just the opposite of what she said, and peeked through the 3F door to see if any guards were around. He had to wait until the two of them passed before he was able to enter the hallway, but instead of starting to search for Domina's quarters, which could have been anywhere, and was likely not labeled, he smiled when he immediately spotted a door marked _Custodian_.

The door was locked, meaning that whoever was in charge of cleaning this place was already gone, so the young man crouched down and quietly picked the lock, while constantly looking for approaching guards. There were also no cameras, since after all, what kind of moron would break into a custodial closet, and Mongoose became even more pleased when he opened the door and discovered that there was a large, and very loud, boiler unit inside.

Next, he went into the custodial room, and closed the door so that it was open just enough for him to see the entrance to the stairwell, before grabbing a small fire extinguisher and taking it off the wall. The guards did not pass again for a couple minutes, but instead of waiting for them, he was listening for footsteps coming up the stairs… which he heard a short time later. They got closer and closer, until the door opened, and sure enough, Empress walked out into the hallway, immediately turning and not giving a second thought to the custodial closet that she was about to pass.

She should have paid attention… because if she had, she might have noticed that the door was opening, and maybe she could have avoided getting whacked upside the head with a fire extinguisher, before collapsing into Mongoose's arms. But she didn't, so there was nothing that the now unconscious Valkyrie could do as the young man dragged her into the custodial closet with him and locked the door.


	20. Chapter 20 Empress

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Twenty: Empress**

Thankfully, no one came into the custodial closet for a while, because if they had, they would have seen Empty Mongoose using a bunch of old utility chains and padlocks to restrain Empress. He had given the Valkyrie member a pretty good hit to the head, so she remained unconscious while he put her in a sitting position, with her legs outstretch with the ankles bound, and her wrists secured to a thick pipe behind her back.

There was no point in gagging her, since the boiler unit in the room was so loud that they would be lucky to be able to hear each other, and now it was time for the interrogation to begin. He had been looking forward to this, especially since Empress had made such bold claims during his own captivity, such as her being almost as strong as Domina. So he took a bucked that was nearby on the floor, and put it underneath the boiler's pressure bleeder, filling it up with scalding water when he pulled the cord.

"Empress?" He whispered softly into her ear. "Oh, Empress… it's time to wake up, sweetheart."

She moved a little and mumbled something, but that was about it, so the young man stood up, picked up the bucket, and tossed the contents onto her. Now _this_ woke her up, startling her so much that she gasped and looked around for a second, before crying out and pulling against the chains when she realized that boiling water had been tossed on her. Clearly the woman was confused, and maybe still a little out of it from being hit over the head with a fire extinguisher, so the only civilized thing to do was to fill up another bucket, and make her scream when it was tossed onto her.

"Stop it!" Empress yelled, still pulling at the chains. "Stop it! Guards! Guards! Help!"

"Hmmm, no one seems to be coming." Mongoose replied just loud enough to be heard. "Here, let me help you. _GUARDS! GUARDS! HELP! EMPRESS IS ABOUT TO BE BEATEN TO DEATH BY AN ENEMY INFILTRATOR! QUICK, HE'S GOING TO KILL HER! THEY'RE IN THE JANITOR'S CLOSET! HELP!_ "

This seemed to make Empress realize that no one could hear her cries for help over the boiler, and the look of fear that was spreading across her face was enough to make the young man laugh… before swinging the bucket around, and slamming it into the side of her face like it was a _Morning Star_. He then tossed the bucket away, before crouching down and straddling her while taking out his knife, holding the sharp part against her cheek.

"I'm _so_ glad we can finally have some alone time, Empress." He whispered in her ear while lightly dragging the blade down, making her wince. "I mean, after all that good stuff you were saying while I was chained up, I just _had_ to come here and see your skills for myself, you know? So, quick… show me how you're going to get out of this one."

Empress continued to struggle against her chains, pulling on them, and trying to wriggle her way out, but nothing was working… Mongoose had made sure of that, especially since he had already taken all of her weapons and equipment. The young man allowed this struggle to continue for a little while, but then he took the knife away from her face, brought it up high, and stabbed the blade down into her shoulder as hard as he could. The Valkyrie member screamed in reaction, but this was stopped when Mongoose punched her in the mouth with his other hand, keeping a firm grip on the knife.

"Okay, now that introductions are complete." He continued, moving the blade a little. "I've got some things I need to know, and I'm told that _you_ are the expert. Of course, you could always refuse to answer me, in which case I'll simply kill you, but I'm willing to bet that you don't want to die in a janitor's closet… so let's begin."

The first thing he needed to know was where Domina's quarters were, and Empress was amazingly quick to answer. She not only told him how to get there, but also gave him the door code, and told him where the surveillance camera inside of her room was. As a reward for being so honest, Mongoose pulled the knife out of her shoulder, even going so far as to press down a cloth to stop the bleeding in order to give her some hope… although there was _no way_ that she was walking out of this closet.

"See how this works, Empress?" He continued softly. "You answer my questions, and I reward you, okay? Now… where does Domina keep the key to the B1 vault, and how do I get down there?"

"The vault?" The Valkyrie asked. "You're after the other suit, aren't you… and that means you're going after Domina again, right? Her key is hidden underneath the mattress springs of her bed, and then you back to the ground floor, and take the west hallway to the stairs that go down. She's probably not on B1, though… you'll have to go to B3 where they keep the special projects… but you need to put in the code in the B2 security station to get access… and I don't know it… only Domina does."

Mongoose couldn't believe how much information that he was getting out of this woman… of course he would have been an idiot to not think that most, if not _all_ of it was a trap. Well, she had answered all of his questions, and from the look in her eyes, she was hoping that he would let her go… but unlike Sultana, who was likely falling in love with him, and Tsarina, who he was genuinely developing feelings for… there was no way that he could _ever_ trust Empress.

So he grabbed her by the hair, yanked her head back, and thought about his dead comrades as he stabbed her in the side of the neck. The images of them being still alive as these Valkyrie bitches allowed Saunders to suck out their brains, or however she did it, just made him use more strength as he stabbed Empress in the neck again and again until she finally stopped moving. Yes, he had promised Tsarina that he wouldn't kill any more of her friends, but… apparently that had been a lie.

Moving away from the Valkyrie member's still bleeding body, the young man stood up, and used the boiling water from the unit to clean off his blade, as well as the splatters that had gotten onto his sneaking suit, since it was resistant to extreme temperatures. Now it was time to make his way to Domina's quarters, since he didn't know when the next time this closet would be used was, so he walked over to the door, and got down on his stomach to look underneath. As far as he could see, there were no guards at the moment, so he took a chance, closing and locking the door after passing through, and then creeping his way down the hall.

According to Empress, Domina's quarters were on the far west side of this floor, so he basically had to make his way all the way around the building, no matter which route he took. So the young man headed north, but had only gotten about halfway down the first section of hallway, when a couple of guards came around the corner. With nowhere else to go, and not wanting to start a firefight just yet, Mongoose ducked through the first door that he saw… which happened to be some kind of research laboratory where a group of people in lab coats were working.

"Yes?" The nearest researcher asked as he started to turn around. "What is it?"

Moving more by instinct than anything, the young man ducked underneath the nearest table, moving into the shadows just before the researcher turned around to see the door shut on its own. He seemed to be confused by this for a moment, but then shrugged and returned to work, allowing Mongoose to sigh with relief as he looked at his surroundings. This room had three rows of tables like the one he was under, and of course the other door was at the far end, meaning that he would have to sneak his way under each row, and then somehow get out the door without being detected.

Thankfully, he was in a room filled with scientists who were buried in their work, and not trained soldiers who had nothing better to do than look for him, so it was actually pretty easy to sneak from row to row. Soon the young man was underneath the last row, using it as cover to get as close as possible to the door, but this time the researchers were standing in positions where they were likely to spot him if her moved.

"So the first molecule says to the second molecule." A nearby researcher said to his colleague. " _I'm afraid I've lost an electron_. So the second molecule says to him _are you sure_? And the first molecule replies… _I'm positive_."

The nearby researchers who were in earshot immediately started chuckling at this joke, but Mongoose just shook his head. However, as big of nerds as these people were, the joke _had_ caused one of them to turn away from where he was previously standing… which gave the young man a clear shot at the door. This might have been his only chance, so he took it, coming out from under the table, and there were no cries of alarm by the time he was back in the hallway, so that must've meant that he was in the clear.

Thankfully the next time that he had to duck into a room, it was just used for storage, making it a lot easier to continue on his way around the building until the young man finally arrived at a very heavy door that was exactly where Empress had said it would be. There was also a keypad, although he was hesitant to use it. Just as there was a code to open the door, there could also be one that triggered an alarm… so should he risk it? In the end it all boiled down to how big of a coward Empress was… oh well, he would try it.

The code was a simple series of seven digits, so he was in the middle of putting the numbers in, when something moved behind him. Turning around and reaching for his knife, the young man was more than surprised to find himself looking down the barrel of a small gun… and even more surprised when it shot a small plume of colored gas into his face. Almost immediately his limbs started to feel heavy, getting worse and worse to the point where he had to lean on the door in order to remain standing, but he was even more surprised at who had been holding the weapon.

"My, my, you really _are_ hard to keep contained, aren't you?" Saunders said, holstering her weapon before moving up to the keypad. "You should probably thank me, though… since that code you were about to put in would have sounded every alarm on this installation. But don't worry… I have the right one."

Mongoose tried to move and talk as she started entering numbers, but failed at each by the time she had entered the code. After pushing the final number, the indicator light on the keypad turned green, and then Saunders opened the door, causing the young man to stumble into the room before falling onto his side. He was now completely paralyzed, helpless to do or say anything as Saunders came into the room, shutting and locking the door behind her.


	21. Chapter 21 Revelations

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Twenty One: Revelations**

"I know what you're thinking." Saunders said as she knelt down next to the completely paralyzed Empty Mongoose. "You're wondering how in the hell a mousy little CIA dweeb like me managed to sneak up on you, right? Well, maybe next time you'll take a moment to check if there are any familiar faces before sneaking through a room full of researchers."

As much as the young man hated to admit it, she was right. He had completely written off all of the seemingly busy researchers during his attempt to elude the guards, and Saunders had probably been snickering at him the whole time, when he hadn't even bothered to really look at each person. Of course, this lesson on situational awareness didn't do him much good now, since Saunders had paralyzed him with that strange gas gun of hers, but the important question was now that she had him where she wanted him… what now?

"Don't worry, Domina is in the lower levels." The CIA Agent continued, reaching out and touching his face as if studying it. "I know you're all excited to face her again, but I wanted to make sure that you and I had a chance to speak in private first… well… at least _I'll_ have the chance to speak."

Saunders continued to examine his face, and then the things she began saying stopped making sense. The Agent mentioned that she had run a series of prototype test batteries on the blood that she had taken earlier, and everyone knew that the young man was no scientist, so it only made partial sense to him when she mentioned how surprised she was that he had no _maternal DNA_ at all. She also went into this whole thing about what this _DNA_ stuff was, not that Mongoose understood it… at least not until she ended the science mumbo-jumbo, and actually said something in English.

"Most people have _two_ sets of traceable DNA; from _mother_ and _father_." She explained, using hand gestures that just made her look silly. " _You_ , however… what was your name? _Solidus_? You only have DNA that came from your father, making you a perfect match in every way… and without any maternal DNA, I can only conclude that you have no mother… meaning that you weren't born, Solidus… you're a _clone_."

The Agent rambled a bit about it being hard to believe that she was looking at the world's first successful clone, but all of this was a little hard for Mongoose to take in. The only time he had ever heard of clones were in old science fiction movies like _Invasion of The Body Snatchers_ , but these kind of things weren't real… were they? The thought of him being a perfect copy of his father… whoever that was, was ridiculous, but on the other hand what would be the point in lying to him?

"The procedure would have had to been done a long time ago, given your age." Saunders said, pulling his eye open painfully wide to look at it. "Possibly even before the Snake Eater mission, but… why would they have wanted to make a clone of Big Boss back then… but, _my God_ , you look just like him."

There must've been something in that paralyzing gas that affected Mongoose's hearing, because there was no way in hell that he could be the son of Big Boss. First off, if he really were a clone like the Agent was suggesting, then how did he end up as just another good for nothing child soldier in Zanzibar? Mongoose had no family, and if he hadn't tried to kill Big Boss during that war, he would have never been taken to Mother Base, or even became a member of MSF at all.

There was also another point that Saunders had made that discredited the whole idea. At his age, he would have had to been cloned well before the Snake Eater mission, and Big Boss wasn't even Big Boss back then. Hell, he wasn't even Naked Snake; he was just another of the Boss's apprentices, and nobody even knew back then what he would become, so why create a clone of a nobody?

"Such a mystery." Saunders continued, standing back up. "I just wish that Big Boss was still around so that we could ask _him_ about it, but… I'm afraid that the only remaining part of him or his organization is, well… lying at my feet."

"W… what?" Mongoose managed to say, feeling the gas beginning to wear off. "B-b-boss… what?"

Smirking at first, but then shaking her head almost sadly, the Agent at first asked him if he hadn't heard the news, but then reminded herself that of course he hadn't, having spent the past few hours either locked in a cell of trying to escape. Kneeling back down with him as he struggled to move any part of his body, Saunders explained to him in very plain words that Big Boss was dead, and that the MSF was no more.

Apparently, the whole of Mother Base had been blown apart by some unknown means, leaving no known survivors, and Big Boss's name had been added to the casualty list. She explained that he had been returning from somewhere via chopper when the accident, or whatever it was that caused the destruction happened, and now since the captured operatives had been sacrificed to become part of the Nightlight project, Mongoose was all that was left.

"You're all alone now, Solidus." She continued, unable to stop herself from chuckling a bit at his misfortune. "I guess this makes you some kind of breakaway cell of MSF… a splinter cell, perhaps? No… more like a _dead cell_. Yes, I like that… the _Dead Cell_ of MSF."

Laughing a little louder at her joke, Saunders stood up as Mongoose began to move, allowing him to slowly turn his head upward to look at her, just as she pulled her leg back and kicked him in the face. What little breath he had, was knocked out of him as he collapsed back to the floor, leaving Saunders free to walk back out of the room at her leisure. The door shut and locked again on its own after she was gone, and by this time the gas had worn off enough for the young man to start struggling to get up.

It was a battle just to get up to his hands and knees, as if he had been out running twenty miles with weights on his back, but thankfully Domina's bed was there for him to grab onto for leverage. The bed was surprisingly soft and fluffy, nothing at all like what he would expect such a cold-blooded monster to sleep on, and that was when Mongoose remembered the key's location. Taking a break once he was on his knees, the young man continued holding onto the bed as he felt around under the mattress, but his hand found nothing. It seemed that Empress had doubly deceived him, and this made him glad that he had killed her… until his hand passed over something while he was pulling it back.

If the gas had not worn off just a bit more at that exact moment, he would have missed the plastic card that was stuck up under the mattress, and this trip to the upper levels would have been for nothing. Well, aside from all the strange revelations that came along with his _friendly chat_ with Saunders. Was she telling the truth, as ridiculous as it sounded? Or was it all a lie that… didn't really seem to benefit her in any way?

Now struggling to get to his feet, Mongoose decided that he would just wait until the comms blackout was lifted at Mother Base at some time tomorrow morning, and then he could just ask Big Boss, himself. Clones… MSF wiped out in a single incident… it was all so stupid sounding… unless someone nuked them. The Russians? No, they wouldn't want a nuclear detonation to be taken as a sign of aggression by America, and the same for them in reverse, so who?

"She's playing with your mind, Mongoose." The young man groaned as he finally got to his feet. "She's lying, trying to keep you distracted so that Domina has an advantage… but if that was the case… why didn't the CIA Agent just kill him right there and suck out his brain for Nightlight?"

Either way, he now had the key to the vault on B1, and Saunders' ridiculous story could be verified _after_ he was done beating Domina into a bloody pulp with the other muscle suit. The gas was almost completely worn off now, allowing Mongoose to walk around the room a bit without support until he was almost back to normal again. Of course, when he did get back to Mother Base, the part about Saunders sneaking up and disabling him, would _not_ be mentioned in his mission report.

"Okay, arms… good." He said making circles with his still heavy-feeling arms. "Legs… good. Head and neck… sore, but good. Torso… good."

The Agent had told him that Domina was in the lower levels, but that didn't mean that the Valkyrie leader couldn't have been right outside the door at that very moment, so he decided to get moving. Thankfully, Domina wasn't standing in the corridor when he peeked out, and it seemed that he had chosen the right time to emerge, since the guards were nowhere in sight. After what happened before, he didn't want to risk sneaking back through the research laboratory, so Mongoose silently crept down the corridor, making sure to stop and peek around the next corner before proceeding.

So far luck was with him, but if he was to infiltrate the lower floors, the young man was going to need some kind of disguise. One of the patrolling guards would do nicely, so he made his way back around to the staircase, and ended up taking cover inside of the same custodial closet that he had used to lay the ambush for Empress. The same strategy worked again as well, since the next guard that came down the corridor was alone, and the small fire extinguisher was still undamaged.

The boiler unit masked the hollow _clang_ that resulted from hitting the guard, and once he had been dragged inside, Mongoose broke the guard's neck. Stripping off the corpse's uniform, and dumping the body next to Empress's remains, the young man got dressed, and made sure to lock the closet door as he ventured back out into the hallway. Now that he had a disguise, and the key to the B1 vault, Mongoose went back to the stairs, and started casually making his way back down to the lower levels.


	22. Chapter 22 The Vault

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Twenty Two: The Vault**

 _March 10_ _th_ _, 1975, 0100 hrs._

 _Main Facility 1F, DYE-2, Greenland_

Now that Empty Mongoose was once again wearing a uniform that disguised him as the enemy, it was a lot easier to make his way back down to 1F, since he no longer had to worry about surveillance cameras or people like Saunders spotting him while they were disguised as scientists. Still, the young man couldn't help being impressed by the fact that a pencil-pusher like her had even been _able_ to sneak up on him in the first place, let alone how _easily_ she had disabled him.

It was also difficult to get the things that she had said to him out of his head, beginning with the whole _clone_ business. The parts of the Agent's argument that he could understand were pretty convincing, and Saunders had not been the first person to ever tell him that he looked like Big Boss, either. So was it possible? Mongoose had no family, and no one that he knew as a child soldier would have been able to tell him anything… at least, no one who was still alive, anyway.

He supposed that the only person who could confirm this was the Boss, himself… but this brought him to the _second_ thing that Saunders had told him. According to what she had said, Mother Base had been… _destroyed_ somehow, which was kind of hard to believe, since the IAEA was supposed to be conducting their inspection tonight, and they were the people who _stopped_ things from exploding.

There were still several hours before the comms blackout was expired, and Mongoose didn't want to violate it, in case either the inspection or the mission into Cuba was taking longer than expected. Still, it was maddening to not be able to get any updates, since he was curious to know how both activities went… as well as finding out if there was any truth to what Saunders had told him.

"Holy shit, these nights are long." A guard said to him, interrupting his thoughts as he passed the front desk. "They could at least give us a TV or something."

"Yeah, good luck with that." Mongoose replied, forcing a slight laugh. "I'll settle for them finding a way to get Sasaki to quit complaining all the time, though."

The guard laughed at this, and didn't question him any further, making the young man actually glad that he had been trapped under the desk long enough to overhear what was considered at the time to be pointless information. It allowed him to find a common ground with the guard, and during infiltration, this could be more important than any _challenge/password_ set. After all, passwords could be stolen, but who besides someone from the unit would know about the issues with Sasaki?

Continuing on, and taking the hallway that Empress had told him, the young man passed several small rooms filled with even more researchers, as well as over a dozen guards while making his way to the lower stairs. Tsarina had been right, this place _was_ heavily guarded, but since there had hardly been any guards on the upper levels, that meant that there could possibly be even _more_ of an armed presence downstairs.

The stairwell was at the end of the hall, just like the upward stairs had been, but at least the trip down to B1 was going a lot faster than when he was trying to find Domina's quarters. It was so much easier to just walk right past the cameras on each landing, and faster too… he just wished that he could've picked up one of the Valkyries' stealth systems at some point along the way. Then Mongoose wouldn't have to sneak at all, and could just go up behind Domina and slice her throat.

Too bad he didn't have one, making this daydream pointless as he left the stairwell, and started to explore the corridors of B1. As he expected, there were a lot of guards down there, but since he was in disguise, that shouldn't be a problem. Of course, he still had to find the vault, and it might raise suspicions if he just started asking some of the sentries where Domina kept the most important stuff, nor could he risk someone overhearing him use the radio, so he was on his own.

"Fucking bullshit, so many of us down here at once." A guard said as they met at a corner. "At least upstairs we get to look at those Valkyrie girls once in a while… wouldn't mind getting my hands on the one they call Kumari, for a few hours… which one do you want? I mean, if you had the choice."

"Honestly, I'm after Domina right now." Mongoose replied, leaning against the wall. "I plan to rip her suit off, tie her up, and spend hour after hour doing the most terrible things to her body that you can imagine. Then I'll just leave her there, and run off with Tsarina."

The guard nodded, before admitting that he had a fantasy about Domina as well, and most likely not realizing that the young man was being literal. So they chatted a bit longer, with Mongoose leaving out the fact that he had already killed Kumari, as well as Empress, when the guard said that he liked her as well. But by that time another guard, most likely one of higher rank, came around the corner and scolded the two of them for just standing around. Taking this opportunity to escape the conversation without raising suspicion, the young man quickly resumed _'patrolling'_ in order to continue the search for the vault.

One would think that finding a vault would have been easy, since logically it would be secured by the heaviest door in the facility, but unlike the upper floors that all had simple layouts, this place was a maze of twisting corridors, with other sections that could only be accessed by going through connecting rooms. The good news was that he eventually found the heavy metal door, with a card reader that looked like it would work with Domina's key… but the bad news was that by the time he found it, Mongoose was so turned around that getting back out was going to be even harder than finding the place.

Another stroke of luck was that for the moment this small section of corridor was empty of guards, so not wanting to waste the opportunity, the young man took out the key, and swiped it. The lock made a quiet _beep_ before the indicator light switched from red to green, and then there was a much less subtle _bang_ as the locks were released. Thankfully the loud noise didn't seem to attract any attention as the door swung open, and there was another card reader inside, so the young man allowed it to close again after he stepped through.

It was comforting to know that no one could follow him, and the long florescent lights along the vault's ceiling gave off plenty of illumination, revealing that the vault consisted of a single large chamber. It was circular, much larger than any of the other rooms that he had been into lately, and there were storage containers lined up all along the walls. There were cargo containers, storage lockers, shipping crates, all manner of storage units, and even better was the fact that the US Army insisted on clearly labeling everything.

Each container was marked with what was stored inside; there were weapons, emergency rations, communications equipment, pretty much everything that anyone would ever need to survive in a place like Greenland. However, Mongoose was after something specific, so he slowly circled around the room, reading every label until stopping at one of the large storage lockers that was labeled:

 _PROPERTY OF US ARMY_

 _SPECIAL PROJECTS DIVISION/DARPA_

 _MUSCULAR AUGMENTATION ARMOR_

 _AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY_

Well, this was it. Inside this locker was the weapon that he needed in order to fight Domina, so he pulled open the locker door, and gasped, jumping back as a dead body that had been leaning against the door fell out. It was a woman, judging by her long hair, since she had landed face down on the floor, but why would there be a dead woman locked in Domina's vault? Quickly kneeling down in order to turn her over, the young man's throat ran dry as he realized that it was Sultana… and that she had been killed by a single bullet to the forehead, judging by the hole.

But why would Sultana have been killed? Unless Domina had figured out that she had helped him escape… but if she knew about that, then she probable knew that he was after the other muscle suit as well, so Mongoose looked up into the locker, and found that there was nothing else inside. At least, there was no armor inside, but there was a message on the back wall, apparently written in blood… maybe Sultana's, that read:

 _HELLO SOLIDUS_

Turning his head to look behind while also reaching for his pistol, Mongoose saw nothing. He drew the weapon, and looked left and right while getting to his feet, but still it appeared that he was alone. Maybe Domina hadn't planned on him getting this far… at least not this quickly, so he was just starting to relax when some kind of unseen force suddenly pulled the pistol out of his hands, before hitting him in the side of the head with it.

Staggered by the blow, the young man stumbled sideways as the invisible force tossed the pistol away, only to grab him again and steal the knife from his hidden sheath, and use it to cut the sling for the rifle that was on his back. The rifle was also tossed away, but the knife remained floating in the air, aside from part of the handle, which had also become invisible. Before he could even try to react, something slammed into his stomach, leaving him feeling like he had been kicked as he dropped to his hands and knees.

The knife moved quickly through the air, slicing at him, with another invisible foot or fist striking him each time that he tried to fight back, and soon the enemy disguise had been completely cut away. Making one more attempt to fight this invisible threat, Mongoose threw out a wild punch, that just resulted in his arm getting twisted behind his back… and the knife now held at the side of his throat.

"Don't move, Solidus." Domina laughed, coming into view as her stealth system deactivated. "I wouldn't want this blade to slip."


	23. Chapter 23 Hangar Bay B4

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Twenty Three: Hangar Bay B4**

Now that Empty Mongoose had been disarmed, and stripped of his latest enemy disguise, Domina twisted his arm further and higher behind his back, while keeping the blade of his own knife against his throat to keep him from trying anything else. This was the fourth time that the Valkyrie leader had subdued him, and without the second muscle suit that Sultana had sent him there for, the young man wasn't sure how he was going to get out of this one.

"Let me guess, here for the prototype suit, right?" Domina asked, pressing the blade into his neck a little harder. "Well, I hate to disappoint you, but since that suit was _clearly_ not designed to be worn by a woman, I sent it back to DARPA a few weeks ago. I know, I know, you had this _whole_ image in your head of using it to fight me off, but now you'd have to be the US President to even get a look at it, so you'll have to try something else."

Not waiting for him to reply, she pulled up on his arm so that Mongoose was forced to stand, and then she started moving him back toward the door. Pushing it open by shoving him into it, the Valkyrie leader quickly marched him down the hall, where they encountered several guards who were expectedly confused by what they were seeing. The young man was kept bent forward, so he was able to see little more than their feet, but hearing their startled gasps was enough for him to guess what their faces were doing.

"Why do you all looked so surprised?" Domina asked, stopping the march for a moment. "It's not like I've captured an enemy agent who somehow managed to get past all of you… no, wait a second… that's _exactly_ what I did. _Four times_ now I have had to single-handedly take this little prick down, only to have him escape captivity, and probably kill _who even knows_ how many of you. For this failure, you will choose seven from within your ranks, and have them ready to be executed first thing in the morning. Now, get out of my way."

Marching Mongoose forward once again, the startled, terrified guards quickly cleared a path, and this time the Valkyrie leader took him down another hallway. He was bent so far forward that it took constant effort to not fall over as they walked, and the knife blade was causing a couple drops of blood to fall on the floor. However, the walk ended faster than he thought; rounding two corners, and stopping at another elevator.

Using her elbow to hit the call button, Domina shoved the young man forward the moment the doors opened, letting go of him, and chuckling when he fell on his face. His first instinct was to get up and fight, but the Valkyrie leader stopped this by putting her foot on his back, and roughly pressing him back down to the floor, before keeping him there while she used her own keycard on the controls.

"I have to hand it to you, Solidus." She began as the elevator doors closed. "You truly _are_ a master of deception. First, you made me believe that you were just a distraction so that Big Boss could attack this facility unchallenged, and _then_ you had me convinced that Tsarina was helping you, when it was _actually_ Sultana. It's too bad you're a man… you'd make an _excellent_ Valkyrie."

It was impossible to breathe, let alone _talk_ with how hard Domina's foot was pressing down, so his response was limited to a series of gagging coughs, which slowly got weaker as Mongoose started to experience tunnel-vision. Staying awake was now becoming difficult as well, but then the elevator stopped moving, and the Valkyrie leader took her foot back, allowing the young man to make a hoarse, rasping effort to catch his breath. This effort was interrupted, however when Domina picked him back up in the same position that he had been in upstairs, and marched him through the opening doors.

Again, from the way she was holding him, it was hard to see anything besides the floor tiles, but then the Valkyrie leader stopped them, before making him stand up straight, and kicking the back of his legs so that he had to kneel down. The knife was once again at his throat, and with Domina's other arm keeping him restrained, there was nothing that he could do for the moment, aside from taking in the new environment around him.

This floor seemed to be composed of a single, open chamber that was tall enough to take up B3 and probably at least most of B2 as well, and from the kinds of equipment lining the walls, this was clearly a storage hanger for something _big_. And that big object was right there in the center, taking up a good portion of the hangar, and anyone who had read the briefing on what happened in Costa Rica the previous year could have identified it.

"Peace Walker." Mongoose said, almost in disbelief. "You're _really_ using it for Nightlight."

Domina didn't reply for the moment, seemingly content to simply restrain him, but she didn't really need to confirm anything. It was definitely _Peace Walker;_ the pet project of CIA operative Hot Coldman, which was a nuclear equipped battle tank that was controlled by an Artificial Intelligence modeled after Big Boss's mentor, _The Boss_. It was in pristine condition, especially for having been underwater for a whole year, but there was no more time for investigation, since something else now entered Mongoose's field of view.

"Oh good, you have him." Saunders said as she approached. "For a minute there, I was worried that he'd escaped you again."

"Not this time, Saunders." Domina assured her. "But I'm tired of these stupid _cat and mouse_ games, so let's get on with it."

Mongoose was tempted to ask what exactly they were _getting on_ with, but then he realized that the top of the tray-table Saunders was pushing toward him was lined with surgical instruments. The Agent calmly stated that since his was the last brain needed, it needed to be in better condition than the others, meaning that removal needed to be done on site. She then took a blue marker and drew a dotted line across the back of the young man's head, informing Domina that once the brain was removed, it needed to be mounted inside the cockpit in _less than_ two minutes.

"Yeah, I got it." The Valkyrie leader replied, bending Mongoose forward again. "Say _goodnight_ , Solidus… do it, Saunders."

He struggled to break free of Domina's grip as the CIA Agent approached with a scalpel, but he couldn't, leaving his only option to cry out in anger and fear while starting to feel the tip of the blade pressing into his skin. Domina's laughter filled his ear as the scalpel started to dig in deeper, but then it stopped… in fact, _everything_ stopped as the unmistakable sound of a gunshot filled the air. Even Domina had jumped a little, before looking in every direction for where the shot came from, but this became obvious once she looked at Saunders.

For a moment the Agent remained still, but then the tool fell from her hand, and she gasped, now holding her chest as the white lab coat she was wearing began to become stained with blood. Saunders stumbled backwards, falling onto the floor and breathing out one last time, and although Domina was visibly stunned by this… Mongoose was not. Seizing the opportunity to free himself, the young man picked up the fallen scalpel, and blindly stabbed it above his head, making the Valkyrie leader shriek when he felt it connect with her face.

He dove for cover behind some nearby crates as Domina pulled the scalpel out of her cheek, spitting out some blood in the process, and raising her arm to throw it at him, before being stopped by the sound of another gunshot. This time the bullet grazed Domina's raised arm, forcing her to drop the tool while she also dove for cover. The surgical tool had landed too far away for her to reach again, but she still had her pistol, as well as Mongoose's knife, which she was now using to try and see the sniper's position through the reflecting metal so that she wouldn't have to expose herself.

"Damn it!" The Valkyrie leader exclaimed when the blade was shot out of her hand, then turning on her radio. "Tsarina, that can _only_ be you; what the _hell_ are you doing?!"

" _I'm sorry, Domina, but this has gotten out of hand_." Tsarina's voice replied. " _You've been having us kidnap people, so that you can cut out their brains, and shove them into a robot… say that out loud, and tell me it's not completely insane_."

They went back and forth like this for a time; Domina ordering her to stand down, and Tsarina finding different ways to explain to the Valkyrie leader why the very _idea_ of the Nightlight project was something out of a horror film. Mongoose, however, did _not_ spend this whole time just standing still. Once he saw that Domina was distracted, and being able to hear both sides of their conversation over the radio, the young man crept out from cover on the other side, and made his way toward Peace Walker, or Nightlight, or _whatever_ it was being called.

" _So is this conscience of yours_ _new_?" Domina's voice asked. " _Or was I right when I thought you had been helping Solidus from the beginning_."

" _If anyone around here needs help, it's you, Domina_." Tsarina's voice replied. " _Especially if you can't see why all this is wrong_."

Every once in a while, there would be another gunshot, meaning that Tsarina was still holding her at bay, and this time was precious since Mongoose had no idea where the cockpit was. The most obvious place was the large pod mounted on the head that used to house the AI unit, so he made his way around to the front of Nightlight, finding that instead of a singular pod, the unit had been shaped into a kind of elongated snout that extended back into the main body as well. There was an access ladder built into the side, so he climbed up, finding that the top hatch was open as well.

Another gunshot echoed throughout the hangar as he climbed down into the unit, closing and locking the hatch behind him. Just as he had hoped, Mongoose was now inside some kind of makeshift cockpit that from the looks of things, had been originally designed for a human pilot. There was a seat, and a series of control panels, but a strange kind of mount had been installed, with hardwire connections going to pretty much everything. He didn't really understand the technology involved, but from what Saunders had been saying before she died, this was somehow intended to house his brain.

If this weren't disturbing enough, there were other brains already housed in other mounts, mostly behind the seat, lining the rear walls of the pod. Each mount was glowing a dim blue color, and the control panels were active, maybe meaning that Nightlight itself was ready to go? Again, from what Saunders had said, it was only missing his brain, so he grabbed onto the mount, and ripped it out of its socket, pulling out all of its hardwire connections as well, before tossing it behind the seat.

"Okay, uh… brains." Mongoose said, getting into the pilots seat. "Let's see if we can make this work."


	24. Chapter 24 Nightlight

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Twenty Four: Nightlight**

 _March 10_ _th_ _, 1975, 0215 hrs._

 _Main Facility B4, DYE-2, Greenland_

At first Empty Mongoose had been worried about the kinds of controls that he would find inside the cockpit, or if he would have even been able to figure out how they worked, but to his surprise, the controls were amazingly simply. There were only a few manual buttons, levers, and a control stick. Apparently the brains were meant to handle most of the maneuvering, but now that he had both ripped out the final mount, as well as denied the machine its final brain… would he be able to operate Nightlight?

Outside, he could hear the muffled sounds of Tsarina's rifle, meaning that Domina hadn't killed her yet, but her ammo wasn't going to last forever, so the young man had to at least get the system working. This also turned out to be easier than expected, requiring only that he press a single button near the control stick, causing a loud hum to pass through the restored Peace Walker frame. The control panels flickered to life, and the blue light emanating from each of the brains' mounts intensified while a monitor screen, like the ones used to watch security cameras, activated in front of his face.

Apparently the whole front of the pod had been converted into a kind of viewing screen, allowing him to see what was in the room beyond, without having to either leave the pod, or even have any actual windows. Mongoose could see almost the entire room, including where Domina was still taking cover, although the look on her face made it obvious that the Valkyrie leader realized Nightlight was activating.

"Okay, there she is." He said to himself. "But how do I use the guns?"

Suddenly one of the brains began to glow more brightly, and the viewing screen was overlayed with a targeting crosshair. Well, that was simple enough, and there was a red button on top of the control stick, so he grabbed the stick, and then the muffled sound of gunfire could be heard outside once he pressed the button. Nightlight must've been loaded up with tracer ammunition, since he could clearly see each round as they flew toward the target, but instead of being riddled with the large caliber bullets, Domina reacted.

Diving out of the way of the first salvo, Mongoose used the control stick to make Nightlight turn toward her, but now it was becoming even harder to target her. On top of the increase in strength, her muscle suit must have also increased her agility, since Domina was able to easily dive and leap to cover each time her concealment was destroyed by gunfire. Alarms were now going off throughout the base, meaning that soon the Valkyrie leader would have a ton of reinforcements, and Tsarina would be in danger if Domina revealed that she was a traitor.

"Tsarina, get out of here." He said, turning on his radio as he tried to reacquire Domina. "I'll handle Domina, you just get to safety, and I'll meet up with you again once everything's finished."

He could see Tsarina on the screen as well, hidden behind some crates on the upper level, waiting for her next chance to shoot at Domina. The girl had already taken down Saunders, and given him the opportunity to get into Nightlight, but Domina was still dangerous, and he didn't want to see Tsarina get hurt. She argued a little, which was expected, but this stopped once the doors on the lower level opened, and guards began to rush in.

" _Okay, I'll meet you outside_." Tsarina's voice said. " _Good luck, Mongoose_."

A small electrical disturbance registered across the controls as the girl vanished from sight, and then something else registered… the impact of small arms fire against Nightlight's hull. Adjusting the angle of the viewing screen, the young man could see that the dozen or so guards that had come into the hanger had taken cover and began firing at him, but this posed no danger. Their bullets just bounced off, and Mongoose waited until they were all taking time to reload, before retaliating.

Pressing down on the red button, the targeting crosshair moved to each guard one at a time, and the heavy rounds pulverized both their cover and their bodies. Meanwhile, Domina was heading for the door, intent on using her guards as a distraction so that she could escape, but Mongoose wasn't about to let that happen. Moving the curser to target the wall above the door, he pressed the fire button, but instead of the heavy guns, the young man was surprised as a small missile was launched.

There was a decent size explosion on impact, and the force threw the Valkyrie leader off her feet, and collapsing the doorway just before she would have passed through. Trying not to give her time to recover, he resumed firing, but Domina rolled backwards to her feet, and then did a sideways flip to avoid his next shots, while taking out her pistol. She fired three times before her feet hit the floor again, but this time something registered on the control panels. Apparently the Valkyrie leader was such a good shot, that she had managed to damage one of the guns.

There were plenty more, however, and as soon as the last of the guards were finished off, every single one of them targeted her. For a while she was able to avoid the rounds, flipping and spinning around with the skill of an Olympic gymnast, but the next small missile that was launched caught her off-guard. The explosion happened right at her feet, throwing the Valkyrie leader against the nearby wall, and giving Mongoose the chance to fire on her again before she could get up.

"Something wrong, Domina?" He asked over the loudspeaker. "Hey, no worries about that other muscle suit… as you can see, I found a better one."

This time one of the bullets hit her in the leg as she was diving for cover, slowing Domina down enough for another one to hit her in the back, making her fall on her face. The muscle suit that she was wearing under her uniform seemed to have protected her mostly, but now the suit was sparking and crackling with electrical energy, as if it were heavily damaged. She made another attempt to get up, but in response Mongoose sent a single round into her chest, throwing her backwards right through some crates, and this time she wasn't so quick to move.

"Hey, you don't look so good, Domina." He continued over the loudspeaker. "Usually you're so smug and superior, but now it's like… my gosh, it's like you're getting your ass kicked down there."

"Solidus, you fucking coward!" Domina spat as she struggled to get to her feet. "How many times did I completely destroy you, huh?! How many, you sack of garbage?! You think _Nightlight_ makes you the best, do you?! You think you're as good as Big Boss, huh?! Well, my muscle suit is _wrecked_ … so come down here, and let's see who walks out of here alive! What are you waiting for, Solidus?! Show me you're as good as Big Boss!"

Waiting patiently for her to finish her rant, Mongoose took a moment to consider what she said. On one hand, this was a chance to finally get a fair contest with her, and on top of that, Domina was wounded. He could probably go down there and beat her, and in a strange sort of way prove that he was as good as Big Boss, especially if all of the things Saunders had said to him about being a clone and the MSF's Mother Base being destroyed were true. But on the other hand…

"I'm not Big Boss." He answered, before pressing the fire button.

Again the heavy guns opened fire, but this time the Valkyrie leader wasn't able to get out of the way. The rounds tore through what was left of her armored muscle suit, before pulverizing her entire body just as easily as they had done to the guards. When he finally released the trigger, there wasn't enough of Domina left to even identify. He had won… and the sigh that he let out as he leaned back in the pilot's seat felt like the first time the young man had been able to relax in days.

There wasn't much time to relax, though, since Nightlight's sensors showed that there was a large group of guards on the other side of the collapsed door trying to dig through the rubble… and now there were even more of them appearing on the upper levels, as if they thought that surrounding Nightlight was a good idea. To be fair, they hadn't seen what he did to the others, and the looks of shock on some of their faces as they took position, showed that they didn't even know what was in the hangar.

"Tsarina, can you hear me?" He asked into the radio as even more guards came in. "Tsarina, I need to know that you're clear of the base."

" _Yes, I'm outside_." Her voice replied. " _I'm just past the perimeter wall_."

Well, that was all he needed to know, so after briefly telling her to stay where she was, Mongoose reactivated the unit's targeting system. However, instead of aiming at the guards, he angled the weapons up so they were pointing at the far end of the ceiling, and the connected brains must've understood, because both the heavy guns and missiles began to fire. The guards panicked, running for their lives as the walls and ceiling started to collapse around them, raining down huge pieces of metal and concrete as Nightlight's weapons cut through each level of the base like a mining drill until the dark night sky could be seen.

" _What the hell is going on down there_?!" Tsarina exclaimed over the radio. " _It looks like the whole main facility is falling apart! Are you and Domina still fighting_?!"

"Domina's history." He replied moving the control stick so that Nightlight began to climb the _ramp_ of rubble. "And I'm going to take out this whole facility, one building at a time if I have to, and…

His words were interrupted as another one of the brain-mounts glowed more brightly, and then a symbol became illuminated on the control panel as something large was dropped out of Nightlight's lower hatch. The symbol was the unmistakable yellow and black sign for _radiation_ , and when Mongoose turned the viewing screen so that he would see what had been dropped, he gasped when he saw that it was a nuclear warhead… one that the control panel said was now activated.

"Tsarina, change of plans." He continued nervously after clearing his throat. "This whole base is about to be nuked, so I'm coming to pick you up, and… I just hope that we have enough time to get away."

The confusion and panic that followed was expected, but not the countdown that suddenly appeared on the lower right corner of the view screen, which indicated there was only about a half hour until detonation. So he moved the control stick all the way forward, causing Nightlight to begin climbing toward the surface.


	25. Chapter 25 Solidus Snake

**Nightlight: Metal Gear Solid**

 **Chapter Twenty Five: Solidus Snake**

 _March 10_ _th_ _, 1975, 0250 hrs._

 _Top Secret CIA Facility, Codename DYE-2, Greenland_

 _WARNING! WARNING!_

 _NUCLEAR WARHEAD IS ARMED! NO CANCELATION CODES REGISTERED!_

 _WARNING! WARNING!_

 _TWENTY FIVE MUNITES REMAINING UNTIL DETONATION!_

It took longer than Mongoose had hoped for Nightlight to climb its way up to the surface, but the good news was that now that the alarms were going off all over the base, the guards were sure to be in a panic. However, to the young man's surprise, the guards were not panicking and running around, instead they started shooting at the repurposed Peace Walker. There wasn't really much that they could do, since the only damage the unit had taken was from Domina's pistol, so although some of the guards had enough sense to run for their lives in whatever vehicles were available, a large number of them didn't.

Piloting Nightlight was _so_ much better than being on the other side of the battle, like Big Boss had always seemed to be whenever a new death machine had been created, and whereas he had to go through so much planning and carefulness to sneak into DYE-2, Mongoose couldn't help but smile as this machine… this _Metal Gear_ … _his_ Metal Gear… simply stomped through as if he owned the place.

"I'm on the surface, Tsarina." He said into the radio. "Where are you?"

" _I'm just past the front gate_." Her voice replied. " _I can see the Nightlight machine… I'm waving to you, can you see me_?"

Zooming in with the viewing screen, he smiled again once he saw her partially hiding behind a snowbank. This meant that he had to change course, and thankfully it didn't take much more than the base's alarm announcing that there were twenty minutes left before detonation, for them to finally start using their brains. The front gate was trampled under Nightlight's feet as the last of the guards went running off into the snow, and after a brief stop to allow Tsarina to climb into the cockpit… as well as trying to find room for her, which ended with her just sitting on Mongoose's lap, they headed for safety as well.

Nightlight's top speed was better than he had hoped, but nowhere near as good as a truck would have been, topping out at about 32 kph, leaving both of them sweating profusely as the timer continued counting down. However, it was enough to get them out of the blast radius, although the shockwaves were still felt when the explosion finally happened. The machine had no problem handling the shockwaves, and was undamaged by the EMP that followed, but now there was the lingering question of...

"Okay… what do we do now?" Tsarina asked as Nightlight came to a stop. "We would have been fine, but that nuke is going to show up on every early warning system in the northern hemisphere, and this thing isn't fast enough to get us out of here before recon planes show up."

"Then we need to hide." Mongoose replied. "Can this thing even hide?"

Another of the brain-mounts started glowing, and there was a large electrical disturbance registered along the machine's hull, before the control panel indicated that they were now in _stealth_ mode. It had been mentioned before that the secret project had a camouflaging ability similar to the Valkyries, and apparently that hadn't been an exaggeration. Of course, now that they were hidden from any spy planes that came by, there was something else that Mongoose had to do.

"MSF Mother Base, this is Empty Mongoose." He said, tuning Nightlight's radio to the frequency. "Boss, this is Mongoose, come in… Huey, can you hear me? Commander Miller? Is anyone monitoring? Big Boss, this is Empty Mongoose; mission accomplished… I have some bad news about our people, but I'm bringing something back that'll put old ZEKE to shame… Boss?"

Getting frustrated, the young man now started passing the radio through every signal that there was, both secured and civilian, and apparently Nightlight had the ability to pick up _everything_ , since there was a lot to go through. There was a lot of music, some weather reports, some news in languages he understood, some that he didn't, but so far there was nothing on…

" _Reports are still coming in_." A male voice said on the next frequency. " _But what we can confirm, is that a few hours ago, an explosion rocked the base of the independent military corporation known as Militaires Sans Frontieres. At this point it is not known whether or not the explosion was nuclear, since the IAEA was reportedly denied permission by the group to conduct any kind of investigation, but what is clear is that the fires from what remains of this facility can still be seen distantly burning from the shores of Costa Rica. So far there have been…_

" _Mongoose_!" An anxious voice cut in on another frequency. " _Mongoose, is that you I just heard?! It's Mosquito_!"

"Oh, thank God, Mosquito." Mongoose sighed with relief. "For a second I thought everyone was gone… what happened?"

But the relief was to be short lived, as his fellow MSF operative recounted what happened just as Big Boss was returning with Chico and Paz. Apparently the IAEA inspection team was actually a strike squad that attacked the moment they entered the control tower. The explosions, Mosquito claimed, were from C4 that the squad placed on the struts, and ZEKE was under the base when it happened, so it had probably been destroyed as well.

"What about Big Boss?!" Mongoose demanded. "And Miller… what happened to them, Mosquito?!"

" _Everyone's dead, Mongoose_!" He yelled back. " _Everyone except you and me… you didn't see that strike squad… there were hundreds of them… they're gonna come back to finish us off, I know it! Hide, Mongoose! Hide, and don't ever use these frequencies again_!"

With that, the transmission was cut off, leaving Mongoose and Tsarina to just look at each other in confusion. So, from what he gathered, Saunders had been telling the truth about, well… everything that he had tried to confirm so far. Big Boss was dead… MSF was destroyed… so was he really the Boss's clone? If the CIA agent had been telling the truth about everything else, why would she lie about that?

"So, what do we do, Mongoose?" Tsarina asked, trying to hide her growing fear.

What would they do? Well, there was only one thing that they _could_ do, and that was to start over. Not like Big Boss had done, no, nothing that obvious… nothing that independent… at least, nothing that _seemed_ independent. What they needed to do was start an organization that had the official backing of someone _big_ , like the Americans. And look at that, they had just the thing that was needed to buy their favor.

"I'm going to make whoever was responsible pay for this." He explained. "Here's the plan… you are the sole survivor of the Valkyrie Special Forces, and _Big Boss_ spent the night blowing up your base, right before _he_ got blown up in Costa Rica. I, on the other hand, am Captain George Sears aka _Baker 7_ , the only survivor of Baker Team."

The rest of his plan involved contacting the CIA, and returning Nightlight to them, in exchange for both heavy compensation, and permission to create a new kind of Special Forces, specifically designed for dealing with _threats_ like Big Boss and his MSF. Who knows, with hard work and an impressive success rate, this force… this… _Dead Cell_ of MSF would gain full autonomy, and then the _real_ work would begin.

"I'm going to play nice until I figure everything out." Mongoose continued. "But I won't be able to be Empty Mongoose anymore… from now on my name within the group will be _Snake_ … _Solidus Snake_."


End file.
